Ronins Interrupted
by Ghost of the Dawn
Summary: Sort of a sequal to Demons in the Doorway. A Ronin and Sailor Moon crossover. Those who don't like SM can skip this and wait for the next story.
1. Chapter One: A Coming Storm

Author's Note: Before I start this, I would like everyone to know that I'm not especially a Sailor Moon fan. I am using all their American names--like I do the Ronins. This is mostly because all I know about Sailor Moon is what I've seen on Toonami. So please forgive me if I make any major mistakes with the SM continuity. I'm trying my best. This one should take place sometime after the "pure heart crystal" saga. However, you will not be seeing Rini/Mini Moon in this. So again, I'm trying my best with this and crossing my fingers that some die hard Sailor Moon fan doesn't get on my case for writing a sure kill incorrectly or something. .

Also, please note this is not an official sequal to "Demons in the Doorway", only a possible one. If you absolutely cannot stomach an SM crossover, do not worry. I have you in mind as well. You will not miss anything important if you don't read this. The story I do after this will not involve anything that happens here. It will be safe to skip this and pick up when the next story comes out without missing a thing.

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of Dawn

Chapter One: A Coming Storm

"Ready?" Ryo asked as he lit the match.

"Ready," Robyn nodded, her expression serious.

Ryo's hands were steady as he took the tiny flame and lit the fuse connected to the small colored ball in his hand. The fuse sparked to life instantly. The two teens looked excited as Ryo lobbed the ball into an old, decaying log. They stood in anticipation as they waited. Smoke soon began to ooze out of the old log's many cracks. It was followed immediately after by several buzzing and VERY angry hornets.

"Uh oh," Robyn said. "Great idea, Wildfire."

"Shut up and RUN!"

Grandma Sanada, who was reading quietly, looked up from her book when she heard strange sounds coming from the woods adjacent to her back yard. Seconds later, Ryo and Robyn came crashing out of the underbrush with half a dozen enraged hornets at their heels. White Blaze was napping peacefully and lifted his head when he heard their screams as they raced around the house. The great white tiger flicked his ears and gazed up at the older woman.

"Don't look at me that way," Grandma Sanada replied to him. "I don't claim either one of them."

White Blaze yawned and went back to sleep while she went back to her book. The silence returned, but the two didn't get to enjoy it for very long. From around the front came a familiar growl of an unmuffled engine as it stopped in front of the house. The engine was killed and moments later two young men, one with greyish blue hair and one with blonde, came around the back.

"Hey Grandma, what's shakin'?" Kento called when he saw Ryo's Grandmother.

Like how everyone referred to Kento's mother as "Mama Faun", Ryo's grandmother was known to all the boys as "Grandma". Everyone, that is, except Sage who insisted on calling both women by their more respectable titles like he had been raised to do.

"Kento, Sage," Grandma Sanada greeted from her chair. "I was wondering when you were going to get here. Isn't Rowen coming?"

"Eh, he'll be here in a bit. He has some school thing or something to go to first," Kento responded. "Where's everyone else?"

The second the question escaped his mouth, Ryo and Robyn snuck around the other side of the house behind Grandma Sanada. Both were obviously trying to be as quiet as possible and motioned to Sage and Kento not to mention they had been spotted. Curiously, each had a large water gun in their hands.

"Where do you two think you're going?" Grandma Sanada said without turning around.

The two teens first looked surprised that they had been spotted and then their expressions resembled that of a pair of puppies that got caught digging in the trash.

"You better leave those hornets alone. I don't want them having to rebuild their nest anywhere near this house because you two ruined it."

"Aw Grandma, you're no fun," Ryo whined.

"What are we going to do with all this water now?" Robyn joined in.

They looked down at their water guns and then up at Kento and Sage. The two unarmed Ronins recognized that look. Kento had half a mind to take them on, but Sage was already retreating for the house. He was in such a hurry to escape the water fight threatening to happen that he almost smacked into Cye as the bearer of Torrent poked his head out the door.

"Sage," Cye exclaimed, dodging his blonde friend as he opened the door. "You guys came just in time. The food's ready."

Any thoughts of confronting those with the weapons left Kento's mind at that announcement.

"Alright," he cheered as he started for the back porch. "Hey Cye, I thought we were going to have a cook OUT today. Why are you cooking inside?"

"Because, the only one who's family owns an outdoor barbeque didn't bring it, remember?" Cye retorted.

"Hey, it's not my fault the thing's on the fritz," Kento defended.

"Just don't complain about where the food comes from. It tastes fine and we can still eat it outside."

Everyone trooped into the Sanada house to fix themselves a plate of food--Ryo and Robyn only after they had stashed their water guns where no one could find them. Soon, they were all back outside around the old picnic table and eating merrily away. About half way into the meal, a greyish car pulled up in front of the house. The driver wasted hardly any time before dashing into the back yard.

"Hey guys," Rowen called as he waved around a piece of paper in his hand. "Great news! I passed the test!"

"And what test would that be?" Sage asked.

"The test that qualifies me to take the national college entrance exams. If I get one of the highest scores on this thing I can get a full ride scholarship to any college I want."

"Well, congratulations Rowen," Grandma Sanada smiled.

"Hey, isn't that the same thing you dragged Robyn to a few weeks ago," Kento asked, his mouth full of food.

"Yeah, and she passed it, too--barely."

He sounded disappointed at the last word as he handed Robyn a separate piece of paper. She looked over her test scores while chewing on her hamburger.

"Woo hoo! I'm going to Tokyo!" she announced excitedly.

"It's in Tokyo?" Cye asked.

"You bet!" Robyn continued. "An over night stay with all expenses payed. And Rowen's going to drive us so we don't have to ride in any stinky bus."

"You're staying over night with Rowen?" Ryo asked.

"Not in the same room, you pervert!"

Kento snatched up her test scores while Robyn was berating Ryo. Meanwhile, Rowen had gone into the house for some food and had just returned with plate and sat down to join the rest of them.

"I didn't know you were this smart Robyn," Kento commented as he looked the paper over. Cye idly looked at it over Kento's shoulder.

"I'm not," Robyn assured them. "Rowen already said I barely passed it. I just lucked out."

"You could have done better Robyn," Rowen informed her as he stuffed some potato chips into his hamburger bun. "Your problem is you just don't try very hard."

"I try!" Robyn insisted. "Just because I'm not as smart as you."

"You're smart enough."

"Oh yeah? Says who?"

Rowen looked up at her calmly. "What's the atomic mass of Oxygen?"

"15. 9994. But everyone knows that!"

"Uh, huh."

Ryo and Kento looked across the table at each other, wondering if they had been cheated out of some common knowledge.

"You two are going this weekend?" Cye asked.

"Yup," Robyn replied. "Just me and Rowen for two days and a night. It'll be great."

"For me, too," Cye assured them. "I'm killing two birds with one stone by getting you both out of my hair for a while."

Robyn tried to look indignant though she couldn't stop smiling and kicked at Cye beneath the table. The others just laughed.

The city of Tokyo was as full and alive as it had ever been. The sleek, red motorcycle with its two passengers moved about the heavy traffic as much as they were able. Both were wearing helmets which left their faces hard to see. But their figures both suggested they were female--the features of the woman in the back a bit more prominent than the one driving.

"You know Amara," the woman in back stated. "It's strange, but I've almost missed this city. It's been a while since we were here last."

"Enjoy it while you can Michelle," replied the taller woman up front. "I don't plan on staying here long."

They continued on in silence as they drove further into the large city. Amara felt her companion's grip around her waist tighten. She slowed the motorcycle as they neared a large hotel.

"Did you feel that?" Michelle asked barely above the sound of the traffic. "I can hear the ocean. It's crying out that something is wrong."

Amara nodded. She could feel it, too and she wasn't surprised. This was the reason they had come back to this time. Something dark and sinister was coming.

SKREEEEEEKKKKK! CRASH!

The two lurched forward as the car behind them bumped into them. Amara clenched her teeth as she felt Michelle slam into her from behind. She had been so busy with her own thoughts she hadn't noticed she had slowed the motorcycle down. They stopped, as did the car beind them. Lucky for them, the collision wasn't very powerful as the driver in the car managed to slam on his breaks in time so it only tapped the vehicle in front of it. Still, it was enough to jar the two.

Once stopped, Amara quickly checked herself for injuries. Everything felt in tact.

"Michelle, are you okay?" she asked the person behind her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," came the gentle reply.

"Oh my gosh! Are you guys okay?"

A young girl with red hair and wide, green eyes stumbled out of the passenger side of the car. "We're so, so sorry. You're not hurt or anything, are you?"

Amara looked over her shoulder as the driver got out. He was a tall young man with blue hair that fell over his eyes. For the moment, he still looked too startled from the incident to find his voice.

"I think we're both alright," Michelle answered for the two of them.

"Good going Rowen," the girl berated her male companion. "I told you to watch the road!"

"I was," the young man, now finding his voice, defended. "But it's hard to pay attention when you're yakking at me the whole way!"

"Since when did anything I say bother you?"

"It doesn't! But when you're barking orders at me when I'm trying to drive--hey, you two aren't hurt, are you?"

He suddenly changed his tune as he turned to the two women on the motorcycle.

"We're both fine," Michelle assured them again.

"You sure?" Rowen pressed.

"Yes."

"You're not going to find out you have whiplash and sue me later, are you?"

Amara clenched the handle bars as her tolerance faded. They had a job they needed to do. Michelle was giggling softly behind her.

"No, we're--"

"Fine," Amara finished for her. "We'll be fine. Now excuse us." And with that, she revved the engine and took off down the street.

Robyn and Rowen blinked at their sudden exit.

"Oh well," Robyn then shrugged. "At least we made it to the hotel." She motioned to the tall building beside them.

Rowen nodded and they both got in to park the car correctly and then find their rooms.

"Well, that was something new," Michelle commented as they rode on. "Something wrong Amara?" she then asked as she felt her companion's mood darken. "You're not still mad because they accidentally hit us, are you? Don't be. They seemed nice enough. I'm sure they didn't mean it."

"I'm not mad," the blonde woman mumbled into her helmet.

"Those two were kind of cute together," Michelle went on. "The guy wasn't too bad looking either. Did you see those eyes of his?"

"Whatever," came a disgruntled reply.

"Don't tell me you're jealous," Michelle teased. "Don't worry, I don't think he's my type."

That statement managed to bring a small smile on Amara's face. Michelle always had that kind of off beat humor that she liked. She was about to reply when someone caught her eye and she suddenly swerved into an alley. Michelle gave a startled cry as she had to hold onto her partner's waist so not to get thrown off.

"Amara," Michelle protested.

The other woman was quick to shush her. "Look," she said, pointing to a familiar group of girls crossing the busy street towards them.

"Darien's coming back today, I can't wait!" Serena squealed excitedly. Her long, blonde pony tails swished around her as she stepped off the crosswalk and onto the curb. "It's been three whole days since I've seen him! If I have to be away from him for one more day I'm just gonna die!"

"Yeah, yeah," Rei mumbled as she tossed her raven hair out of her eyes. "Where did you say he went again?"

"To visit an aunt, or grandmother, or something," Serena responded. "But in just a few more hours, I'll be back in his arms again." She got a far off look in her eyes as her mind drifted off in a lovely, romantic daydream involving her and her beloved.

Rei huffed at her expression. "Just because you're the only one with a boyfriend..." she muttered.

"Sad, but true," Mina, who had heard, replied.

"Honestly, is that all you girls think about is boys?" Came a muffled voice. The face of a dark furred cat with a crescent moon on her forehead popped out of Serena's backpack. "It's a wonder you get anything done."

"Quiet Luna," Serena retorted. "You're lucky I let you come with us at all."

Defeated, the talking cat sighed and retreated back into her hiding place.

"While talking about boys is a lot of fun," Lita, the tallest of the group, agreed. "Let's not forget why we're here. To support Ami with her college competition." The brunette placed a hand on her shorter companion's shoulder; a girl with short blue hair and gentle blue eyes.

"Thanks again for coming with me to register," Ami said in her usual soft voice. "This place is going to be crowded and noisy. I'm glad I don't have to do it alone."

"Don't worry about it Ami," Mina replied with her usual enthusiasm. "After all, what are friends for?"

Amara and Michelle peered cautiously out of the alley as the chattering girls walked on without noticing them.

"Well, there goes the Crackerjack Crew," Amara commented with a small smile.

"Too bad we can't go talk to them," Michelle lamented. "I miss them, too."

Amara steeled her expression again. "Sorry Michelle, but this time, I think it would be better if we didn't let them know we were here."

Michelle nodded, though reluctantly. Amara started the motorcycle's engine again and the two raced off, back onto the street and in the opposite direction.

"Man, you weren't kidding when you said this place would be crowded," Lita commented as she looked around.

They had just entered the registration building and the place was completely packed with people of every shape and size.

"Well, students from all over Japan will be coming here to participate in the competition," Ami explained as they waited with her in line to get her registration papers. "This is a great opportunity to get scholarships to colleges all over the country."

When it was her turn, she told her name to the man at the front desk. He looked it up on the list he had and then handed her some papers to fill out.

Mina yawned. "Yeah, sure," she said as she and the group followed Ami towards one of the tables where she could fill out her forms. "I just hope with all these students around I can meet some cute and, not to mention, eligible guys."

"Don't get your hopes up, Mina," Rei told her. "This is a brainiac competition remember? Most of the guys here are probably a bunch of four-eyed, zit-faced nerd bombers with the personality of a floor board."

Ami had heard Rei's remarks and was about to correct and educate her about the opposite sex of her social class when she collided with a rather solid body and dropped her papers. The person she ran into lost their papers as well as they seemed equally startled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, excuse me," Ami blushed profusely as she dove to gather her fallen forms.

"Oh, me, too," came a male voice.

He was a tall, thin young man with blue hair falling over amazing crystalline blue eyes. All the girls stared at him as he crouched in front of Ami to help retrieve all the papers.

"I think I'm in love," Rei whispered to Mina.

"Wow, you're running into everyone today, aren't you Rowen," a female voice joked from behind him. It was from a girl about Ami's height with thin, red hair falling over her face. Rowen shot her a dirty look.

"Rowen? Rowen Hashiba?" Ami gasped as she dropped the papers in her hand again.

"Yeah, that's me," he replied as he gathered up the rest of the papers and stood. She stood with him.

"I've heard about you," Ami explained with growing enthusiasm. "Your entrance exam scores were one of the highest ever recorded." She held out her hand to him. "It's so nice to meet someone on the same intelligence level for once."

Ami's friends looked a bit insulted at her gushing statement, but realized she was probably right.

"Same intelligence level?" Rowen wondered blankly as he shook her hand.

"Oh, forgive my rudeness. I'm Ami Mizuno. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

Rowen furrowed his brow as he searched his memory for such a name. It sounded familiar. Where had he seen it before?

"We got the same score in the national scholastic fair last year."

"Oh yeah!" Rowen's face suddenly lit up. "That's you, huh? Well, I wish you luck on the test tomorrow then," he said as he handed her registration papers to her.

"Yeah, you, too," Ami replied.

"Come on 'Genius Boy'," the red haired girl said with sarcasm as she tugged at his arm. "Day light's wasting."

He turned, grinning at her like they shared a kind of comical secret. "Right, see you later." He gave one last wave to the group of girls before disappearing in to the crowd with his female companion.

Rei payed extra close attention to the view of his retreating backside.

"Wow, that guy is hot!" Serena exclaimed, echoing her thoughts. "Did you catch his smile? It's to DIE for!"

"BACK OFF SERENA!" Rei instantly rammed her elbow on top of Serena's head to stop her from drooling. "You already have a boyfriend, remember?"

"Yeah, but I can still look, can't I?" Serena whimpered as she rubbed her head.

"Just remember, I saw him first," Rei growled.

"Whatever!" Mina suddenly jumped in. "And anyway, I think he's more my type, don't you?"

"Well he's more my height," Lita took her turn to argue. "Wouldn't we make the cutest couple? You know, he kind of reminds me of my old--"

"Oh, don't start that again Lita!" Mina cut her off. "You know I would look better with him."

"Calm down you guys," Ami interrupted softly. "I think you're all acting very ridiculous over one guy you've only seen for a few seconds." The girls hung their heads, feeling shallow and ashamed. "Besides," Ami went on. "Technically, I was the one who saw him first and I think we are much better suited for each other than any of you."

"YOU?!" Mina screamed.

"In your dreams!" Rei added.

Luna poked her head out slightly from Serena's back pack. "Here we go again. Pass a relatively cute guy and it never fails."

But anyone hardly stopped to pay attention to the group of arguing girls as they continued yelling at each other in the crowded, noisy building.

Rowen was still grumbling about how they had to fill out those stupid registration papers before they could go to their hotel room as he trudged through the door with his travel bag. Oh well, at least it was a nice room and no noisy, obnoxious roommates to worry about. Some of the students traveling from the different schools went in groups and were packed in up to four per room in the larger suites. But since Rowen and Robyn were traveling alone, each lucked out by getting their own singles.

"Knock, knock," came a voice as two knocks sounded.

Rowen looked around after he had flung his travel bag on the bed. The knock wasn't coming from the door he came in, but from another along the wall next to the tv. Rowen opened it to see Robyn's smiling face.

"Adjacent rooms, not bad, huh?" she grinned.

"Not bad at all," Rowen agreed as he stepped in and looked around her room--even though it was exactly like his. "So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?"

Robyn sat on the edge of her bed and grabbed the phone. "We could check out the room service in this place. We're getting a free ride, might as well milk it for all it's worth. Or we can just prank call some of the rooms in the hotel. I saw some of those preppy loosers from Juan High come over on the bus."

"Or," Rowen said in a low voice as he sat down on the bed beside her. "We could take advantage of the absence of a chaperone and get a little wild and crazy tonight."

Robyn raised an eye brow at his slimly grin as he leaned over as if to kiss her.

"Or," Robyn offered. "I can kick you in the head, steal your car and go back home. Then, two weeks later, I can sue you for sexual harassment during a school event."

Rowen studied her expression for a minute, then moved away.

"Or, we could prepare for that test tomorrow," he announced as if his first suggestion had never entered his thoughts.

"We could do that," Robyn grinned as she stood.

"Great, I brought the study materials," Rowen said as he ran back to his own room. Robyn shook her head. What was she going to do with a character like him?

Rowen came back later with the said "study materials" and dumped a game box labeled "Trivial Pursuit" on Robyn's bed. Robyn sat on the bed cross legged as Rowen started getting out the cards and pieces.

"Why do you always act like that Rowen?" Robyn suddenly shot at him. She didn't have to clarify. It was clear on Rowen's face he knew what she was talking about. "I mean, it was funny the first time maybe, but now it's getting old. I know you used to do stuff like that to make Cye mad, but he's not even here now. Plus he's mellowed out a lot lately. Nothing you say bugs him any more. So why are you always pretending to be such a slime ball? I know you're better than that."

Rowen shrugged loosely. "I dunno. Just gives me something to do, I guess. But I won't do it if you don't want me to."

"I don't," Robyn informed him out right.

"Fine, fine," Rowen raised his hands in defeat. "I'll behave, okay?"

"Wonderful. Now let's play."

Almost an hour of playing had gone by before Rowen readjusted his legs on the bed and sighed noisily.

"I'm done studying, wanna go see the town?"

"Dude, totally!" Robyn confirmed.

She hopped off the bed and went to put her shoes back on. "You have no idea how long I have been waiting to check this city out."

"Well, let's do it then," Rowen announced, motioning to the door. "Sage knows Tokyo more than I do, but I think we'll manage our way around."

Robyn nodded and they headed out of the hotel room.

"You know, I still can't believe you got that Playboy question right," the red head commented as they started down the hall.

"It was a lucky guess!" Rowen kept insisting. "I didn't know for sure! It said a magazine and that was the only one I could think of!"

"Yeah, right," Robyn snorted as she pushed the elevator button. "You probably have every single issue under your mattress and you've got all the articles memorized."

The elevator doors opened and the two walked in.

"There's articles in there?" Rowen wondered out loud.

Robyn punched him in the arm and Rowen managed to get out an indignant "OW!" before the elevator doors closed.

".....But then Grandpa wouldn't let me go until I had all my chores done," Rei continued to gripe. In the background, she was vaguely aware of a continual sobbing sound as she talked. "So I had to wash all the windows and sweep the floors and do this and that." The sobbing sounds were still there. "Sometimes he gets on my nerves so much, I just want to---" Rei paused. Those sobbing sounds were still there. "For crying out loud Serena! What is your problem!?"

Her blonde friend didn't stop or even bother to look up from where she was whimpering into her folded arms.

"Darien couldn't come home tonight," Mina answered for her. She, and the rest of the girls were all situated around their usual table in their favorite restaurant. Lita casually sipped on her soda while patting Serena on the back in an effort to console her.

"Apparently there was some very thick fog at the airport and all the flights were canceled," Ami finished with sympathy in her voice.

"HE PROMISED HE WOULD COME BACK TO ME!" Serena suddenly took on life and started bawling out loud.

"Come on Serena, it's not his fault," Lita offered. "If they hadn't canceled those flights, they could have had some major problems--maybe even crashed. Just be thankful Darien's still okay and that he's coming back tomorrow."

Calmed by her friend's words, Serena's bawling settled to only a few remorseful sniffs. "You're right Lita," she admitted. "I still miss him though."

"Everything will be fine," Mina took her turn to say. "Just eat the ice cream soda we got for you. Ice cream makes everything better!"

Serena looked up at the tall glass of ice cream and her face brightened. In a second, the entire glass was empty. Her friends all sweat dropped at how fast she had eaten while Serena had to admit she did feel a bit better.

Ami was the first to recover from her surprise and glanced at her watch.

"Oh wow, it's getting late you guys, I really should go home and study for that test tomorrow."

"Oh, come on Ami, stay a bit longer," Rei pleaded.

"Yeah, haven't you studied enough already?" Mina shot off. "You already know everything. What would be the point?"

"Please guys, this is the best chance I'll get to go to the college I want," Ami begged. "I may not ever get another chance like this. I want to prepare for it as much as I can."

The group was about to say their reluctant good-byes when Lita suddenly grabbed Mina up in a vicious choke hold.

"That's the guy!" she exclaimed through her teeth, pointing Mina's face towards the door.

As she spoke, the tall, blue haired young man from the registration office and his female companion walked into the cafe. The two were having a lively conversation and laughing about something as they each carried a few bags full of objects from their mall shopping. The group of girls all hid behind their menus as the two walked by and took a seat at a booth at the other side of the restaurant. The two tried to calm down and act normal but then the girl muttered something, causing the young man to break into a snorting fit behind his menu.

"Oh wow, he's as fine as I remember him," Mina swooned with little hearts dancing in her eyes.

"Yeah well, give it up because I've already called first dibs on him," Rei insisted.

"Looks like he's already got a girlfriend, if you ask me," Serena mumbled, causing her two friends to fall over.

"It's a harsh fact of life, the good ones are always taken," Lita lamented.

"Well, maybe she's just a friend or a sister or something," Rei offered as she climbed back into her seat.

The whole group studied the couple across the room. Rowen and Robyn were now sharing an ice cream Sunday. Forgetting their previous attempt to behave in public, each seemed bent on trying to make the other laugh while their mouths were full of ice cream.

"What are they doing over there?" Mina wondered out loud. "Are they flirting or just trying to gross each other out?"

"More importantly," Ami added. "Why are they running around town when they have a test to study for?"

"Maybe they're just taking a break," Serena offered. "I know I couldn't stand studying for that long."

"You can't stand to even bring your books home, let alone study!" Rei shot back.

"I dunno guys, looks like they've been wandering around town all day," Lita put in as she studied their shopping bags.

"Well, if they're smart, they should be heading back to their hotel any minute to study," Ami huffed. "I know he will at least. He's worked too hard just to throw it all away now."

The group stayed and watched the odd couple from their booth to see what would happen next. But Rowen and Robyn showed no signs of urgency or even mentioned the competition. When the ice cream was gone, they finally got up and started out of the little shop.

"Quick guys! Let's follow them!" Mina announced as she practically crawled over Lita's head and the booth to get out.

"Come on Ami!" Rei said as she pulled her blue haired friend out with the rest of them.

The group of girls poked their heads out of the restaurant and looked around the sidewalks curiously.

"There they are," Serena whispered, pointing in the direction they had gone.

"But isn't their hotel the other way?" Lita wondered.

"Where are they going?" Rei asked. "Come on guys, let's find out."

"Honestly," Ami announced. "I really should go back home now and---ah!"

She didn't get much say in the matter as the rest of the girls pulled her along with them on their spy mission.

"So what should we do now?" Robyn wondered as she swung her bags over her shoulder. Her eyes mostly stayed on the tall skyscrapers around them as they journeyed down the sidewalk. "It's getting kind of late. You want to take in a movie or something?"

"Nah, I've had enough wandering around," Rowen said. "How about we rent some videos and watch them back at the room?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Did you hear that?" Rei whispered from where they were all crouched behind some bushes and a bench. "They're just going to goof around all night."

"And they're going back to the hotel to watch some sappy romance movies no doubt," Lita lamented. "They really must be a serious item."

"Who's room are they going back to Rei?" Mina asked. "His or hers?"

"I don't know. He just said "the room"."

"Oh no! They even share a room!" Mina exclaimed. "What a disaster!"

"Excuse me," a new voice called as a red-haired girl appeared over the bench they were hiding behind.

Completely startled, the group gave a collective cry of surprised that they had been found and started flailing around in confusion. Ami was the only one who managed to remain calm.

"Do you know if there's a video store anywhere around here?" Robyn continued, not at all surprised by their reaction.

"On the corner another block down," Ami told her.

"Thanks," Robyn smiled as she left to rejoin her companion and they continued on their way.

The group of girls stared in shocked silence as the couple left.

"AH! They saw us! What is he going to think?" Mina wailed. "How can I ever face him again?"

"Give it a rest Mina, he's already taken," Rei grumbled.

"I still can't believe he's not even going to prepare for the competition at all," Ami said aloud, oblivious to the other conversation. "He's just throwing his future away."

"Well, maybe he's got really pushy parents who have been making him do all this stuff and now he's going to blow the test to get back at them," Lita hypothesized.

"At any rate, that's one less person you have to worry about Ami," Serena grinned. "With that guy out of the picture, you'll win for sure."

"I--I suppose," Ami relented. If that was true, shouldn't she be glad for that? But then why was she still bothered by it?

"Yeah, we got here alright," Robyn told the phone in her room while Rowen was hooking up the VCR they rented to the TV in his room. "Yeah, it's real nice. We've had fun." Long pause. "Well I'm sorry if you've been trying to call all day Cye, but we've been out. We had to go and register and stuff."

Rowen smiled from where he was hunched over the TV. Every once in a while he could pick up snippets of the conversation.

"No, it doesn't take all day," Robyn admitted. "We went out and did other stuff, too. No! We didn't cause any trouble! Yes, we're preparing for the competition."

"Studying real hard!" Rowen called from the other room.

"Hear that?" Robyn told the receiver. "Yes, we're studying. Yes. I know, you believe everything Rowen says. Uh huh. What? I can hear Kento in the background. Tell him to keep it down. Okay. I'll see you then. Night."

Robyn hung up the phone and sighed heavily.

"Always great to get a call from home, isn't it?" Rowen quipped as he stepped into the room, his task finished.

"It was hard to hear," Robyn replied. "I think they're having a party over there without us. And the guys are all coming out tomorrow. I told them we'd meet them at that ice cream shop we went to when the test is over."

"Sounds good," Rowen nodded. "But until then, get ready for a night of award winning performances. Action! Drama! Romance! Suspense!"

Robyn picked up one of the videos. "If you wanted that then why did you rent "Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail"?"

Rowen grinned. "I like the part with the rabbit."

"Sounds good to me. Let's watch it!"

Now at home, Ami looked up from her text book for the seventh time in the last half hour. What was wrong with her tonight? She just couldn't concentrate. She would try to read the words in front of her, but her thoughts would always turn back to that careless young man she met. What did he think he was doing? Was he really planning on throwing the test? And just why did that bother her so much? She didn't even know him. Perhaps she felt as if he were cheating her out of some healthy competition. Or perhaps she just felt disheartened to see someone with so much potential throw their future away like that.

Either way, Ami couldn't let it get in the way of her studies. She steeled her brain and refocused her concentration, taking on her task with renewed fervor and hoped she would be ready.

The fire crackled and sputtered, but burned steadfastly through the night. Beside it knelt a figure in white robes with long, black hair. Rei chanted softly to herself, as she had done many times before, while staring into the flames. This had become a nightly ritual for her. She would always kneel by the fire before she went to bed.

It was more of a survival skill than a habit for her. They had gone up against too many evils from the Negaverse for her not to do this. So every night, Rei would take it upon herself to check the city for any dark influences that might be around. This night was no different.

Rei basked in the warmth of the fire as her consciousness drifted off to a higher degree of awareness. Her spirit reached out to the far corners of the city in search of anything abnormal. She listened to Tokyo with a heightened sense, making sure nothing slipped past her keen senses. All remained clear and calm and normal. Rei was about to return to her regular level of consciousness when her spirit was suddenly whisked away to some other unknown place.

She couldn't understand or describe what happened. It almost felt like she was being sucked down a drain as she was forced to her new destination. Like a magnet is attracted to metal, she felt herself being pulled towards something else--what exactly, she wasn't sure.

Rei's spirit consciousness looked around the place where she had been brought. She no longer had a clue to where she was. Distance has no meaning on the spirit plane. She could now be anywhere on Earth--on the other side of the planet or even in a whole other galaxy for all she knew.

The dark haired young woman looked around her surroundings. She was in what appeared to be someone's bedroom. It was very well kept. Rei wondered to whom it belonged to. She got her answer when she noticed, sitting in lotus position on the floor, a young man about her age. He had a pale complexion and thick, blonde hair that fell over his right eye. Unbelievably gorgeous, Rei thought. He was dressed in silky royal blue pajamas and sitting before a large candle whose flame burned steadfastly before its master.

Rei was a bit shocked, to say the least. In all her years, she never had this happen. Her grandfather had told her it was possible to meet someone on the spirit plane, but it wasn't very likely. And it wouldn't have happened like this. The meditating young man didn't seem to even sense her presence. He probably wasn't as well practiced as she was. But then, what was he trying to accomplish? Perhaps he had somehow stumbled into a higher level of consciousness without realizing it? But that still didn't explain what Rei was doing in his room.

She studied the young man closer. He was like a statue. Not a muscle quivered, nor hair fell out of place. He seemed almost suspended in time and Rei could sense a strong aura about him. She went closer; he still didn't move. Having no idea where she was, nor an inkling to how she could go back, Rei's spirit merely sat down cross legged in front of him. The large candle burned steadfastly between the two.

The silence in the room was deafening. Rei studied the young man's handsome features a moment longer before closing her eyes. She put all her concentration into reaching out to the person across from her, hoping to some how communicate with him and find why and how she got there. Entering his thoughts, Rei expected to see something resembling that of a wide, open field; as most people's thoughts appear to be when their minds are clear during meditation. But instead of that, everything was dark and Rei was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of foreboding.

She gasped as she was suddenly pulled into a swirling world of chaos. Smoke filled her nostrils even though she physically wasn't there to smell it. In the distance came the thunder of hooves on the ground and horses whinnied and men cried out savagely. Rei turned around to see a decimated battle field with newly slain bodies filled with arrows and small fires burning around them. What used to be an ancient villiage was now left in ruins and blood from the bodies ran like rivers around her feet. Rei shook her head, wondering who could do such a monstrous thing.

On the hill above her were five colored armors, fighting the last of the men sent to protect their village. The warriors were cut down like wheat beneath the scythe and Rei looked on in horror as another armored figure stood before her. This armor was all black with a red battle mask frozen in a grotesque grin. Stringy, white hair spilled out from behind the mask as the warrior waved his massive sword. Rei gasped when the armored figure looked right at her and in the eye holes glowed an intense, unspeakable evil.

In a heartbeat, the dark haired girl found herself back in front of the candle. She didn't know what she saw but she had a feeling it was something she was not supposed to see. Rei gazed over at the young man still sitting where she had left him. She looked into his face and his eye suddenly snapped open. The intense, violet iris stared right at her. He knew she was there.

A great force suddenly pushed her and Rei was plunged back home into her old body before she knew what hit her. The force of the return was enough to knock her down and she fell startlingly close to the fire burning in front of her. But Rei hardly noticed, all she could think about was that young man and the evil he somehow seemed connected to.

Clouds slowly rolled in towards the city of Tokyo. Thick, smothering clouds such had never been seen before. On a hill overlooking the city, two figures watched as the greyish mass moved forward; as if intent on swallowing everything in its path.

The taller blonde woman turned to her companion with the long, wavy green hair.

"Here it comes," she spoke. "It's time."


	2. Chapter Two The Fog Thickens

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of Dawn

Chapter Two: The Fog Thickens

The TV continued to blare out static as it had been doing all night long. But it also continued to be ignored. The doors connecting the room it was in to the adjacent one were open, but no one was in the other. Sprawled out in front of the impatient TV were two lifeless bodies. One was stretched out on the floor with a blanket tangled up in the long limbs. A smaller body lay face down on the bed with red hair and an arm spilling over the side.

The sunlight tried valiantly to squeeze in through the curtains as the morning dragged on. But the room still remained quite dim. The body on the bed made a small moaning noise as she shifted and rolled over on her side. Robyn yawned and folded her arms under her head. She opened her eyes long enough to gaze at the red numbers on the clock with her vision blurred before closing them again. Something seemingly important tickled at the back of her mind and she blinked tiredly again. What did those numbers mean? She couldn't remember.

Eight thirty-nine. That's what time it was. What a great time to---

"HOLY CRAP!" Robyn exclaimed as she suddenly sat up. "The test starts at nine!" She looked at the clock again. "We've got twenty minutes or they won't let us in! Rowen, wake up!"

Still a bit clumsy with sleep, Robyn attempted to reach Rowen from the bed. She failed miserably and, instead, lost her balance and fell to the floor on top of him. Rowen gave an odd squeak when she hit his stomach and automatically sat up.

"Migrational coconuts have a weight ratio of forty-three beats per second!" Rowen automatically shot out. "Huh?" he then asked as he looked around. He finally noticed the body sprawled out in his lap. "Oh, it's you. Gimmi a few more minutes, huh?" And with that, Rowen fell over and immediately went back to sleep.

"Rowen, wake up! We have to be there in less than twenty minutes!" Robyn shook his shoulders, shoving him back to consciousness for a little while longer. "Quick! We've got to get dressed and go!"

Robyn ran into her room and shut the door as she hurried to change her clothes and get ready. She began brushing her hair as she knocked on the door combining the rooms.

"Hey Rowen, ya decent in there?" she called.

No answer.

"Rowen?"

She opened the door and about had a heart attack with what she found. The Warrior of Strata was still on the floor where she had left him, snoozing away like he had all the time in the world.

"Rowen!" Robyn pounced on him and grabbed his collar, shaking him violently. "Get up you idiot! If you don't make it to that test you can't blame this on me!"

Rowen was roused slightly from the rough treatment. But all he managed to do was put his arms around Robyn, snuggle up next to her, and go back to sleep. Robyn's body stiffened as she was unwillingly pulled closer to him. She looked at the ceiling as if asking the powers that be for help with her situation.

"Man, the things I do for you," Robyn mumbled as she tried to squirm away.

But then she got another idea.

"Rowen," she called sweetly as she put her arms around him as well. "Come on honey, get up."

The blue haired young man seemed to respond better to the gentle prodding and made a half hearted attempt to move as Robyn began pulling him to his feet.

"Come on Rowen," she continued to coax. "I've got a nice warm place you can sleep. Just come with me."

Rowen mumbled something as Robyn managed to get him on his feet and half dragged, half carried him towards the bathroom.

"Cripes, how does Sage deal with this every day?" Robyn mumbled under her breath. "There we go," her voice changed to a soothing tone as she addressed Rowen again. "A nice, soft bed for you."

Rowen was more than willing to climb inside the bath tub as she helped him in. Almost smiling, he curled up again and got ready for a nice, long rest.

After laying him in the tub, Robyn closed the shower curtain and promptly turned the cold water on full blast. High, girlish screaming came as a direct result. Robyn smirked as she heard various body parts banging against the porcelain tub while her victim scrambled to escape his chilly onslaught. Rowen got a little tangled up in the shower curtain before he managed to get the water turned off. Once that was over, he stood with wide, clueless eyes while his dripping wet clothes hung from his body.

"What....who....why..." he panted as he held his arms out away from his body, resembling something close to a drowned rat.

Robyn just returned his questioning look with a stern one.

"You've got ten minutes before it starts," she informed him. "They don't let you in if you're late, remember?"

And with that, she left his room and shut the door behind her. A minute later, she could hear the shower going from the other room while she did her hair. Rowen was probably trying to warm up before he got dressed. Robyn allowed herself a small smirk as she remembered how he had looked earlier. She should have brought a camera with her.

The shower was turned off, as was the TV (Robyn had forgotten to do that earlier in her panic.) It wasn't long after before the two students could be seen racing towards the college building where the test was being held.

"Wow, we're a whole two minutes early!" Robyn exclaimed when they got inside. "So this is the best we can do without our mommies here to make sure we wake up on time."

"Our mommies?" Rowen repeated. "You mean Cye and Sage?"

Robyn laughed. "That's them. Makes you wonder how long we'd survive on our own."

"Hopefully we'll never find out," Rowen confided. "I'm packing Sage up in my suitcase when I go off to college."

"Good luck," Robyn snorted.

They entered the large testing room which was set up almost like an auditorium. There were rows upon rows of desks from almost ceiling to floor. And each already had a student sitting in it--most of them talking with those around them while they waited for the test to start.

"Looks like we're going to have to split up," Robyn stated, noting how just about all of the desks were already full.

"Okay, catch you after the test," Rowen called as he went one way and she went the other.

The tall young man found a desk near the front and sat down. A large envelope and a pencil were already there, waiting to be used as soon as the word was given. Rowen tapped his new pencil idly as he took a look around his surroundings. He blinked when he recognized the girl sitting behind him. She seemed focused on the closed test on her desk.

"Hey, Ami," Rowen called to her.

The blue haired girl looked up and blinked in surprise as she was brought out of her thoughts.

"It's Ami, isn't it?" Rowen checked, unsure of her name from the way she reacted.

"Um, yeah. That's right."

She looked and sounded so surprised to see him. Rowen wondered why.

"I didn't see you anywhere. I wasn't beginning to think you weren't coming," Ami confided in him.

"Yeah, I kinda slept in late this morning. Forgot to set the alarm. I just barely got here."

"Well, you definitely cut it close. Did you...spend a lot of time preparing for the test yesterday?"

"Not as much as I could have," Rowen admitted. "But I pretty much have it all down. The only thing I needed to brush up on was current events. But I caught Letterman and the Daily Show last night so I think I'm good. Did you know the satellite at our hotel can pick up American stations? It's pretty cool."

All Ami could do was stare in disbelief as an aged man stepped up to the podium at the center of the room and announced for everyone to be quiet and start the test. Rowen turned around and opened his packet right away, as if more than happy to take it. Or more than happy to flunk it, Ami thought.

The exams usually took on the average of three hours for the students to complete. If it took them any more than four hours they had to quit and hand in their tests as they were. Robyn finished hers in two hours.

Silently, she was glad how the seating arrangement went. If Rowen ever saw her leaving the competition that early, it could have distracted him from his test. In fact, she knew it would distract him and that was the last thing she wanted. Still, he probably wasn't going to be too happy once he found out she hurried through the thing. She was only doing this for his sake. As long as his full concentration remained on the test now, she didn't care what he had to say to her later.

Robyn walked alone back to the cafe' she and Rowen ate in the night before. She gazed in surprise at the fog all around her. She hadn't remembered the sky being over cast at all that morning when they were running for the test building. It had come up quick and seemed to be getting thicker by the second. Robyn wondered if it would hinder their ride back to Toyama at all as she entered the cafe.

Once inside, she sat down quietly at a small table built for only two people and ordered herself something to eat. She and Rowen had to skip out on breakfast because of the test that morning. Needless to say, Robyn was practically starving by that time. She eagerly dug in to a stack of pancakes and a fruit plate when it was brought to her. Delicious!

While Robyn was busy chowing down, a small group of three talkative girls came in and sat down at their usual booth. Robyn hardly noticed them as she was absorbed in a magazine she had while she ate.

"So where is Rei?" Serena wanted to know from where she was sitting. "She should be here to support Ami when that test thingie is over."

"She called me this morning," Mina explained. "She said she wasn't feeling good and she didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is, but she didn't sound that great on the phone."

"We'll have to see how she's doing when Ami gets out," Lita suggested. "My guess is that she's worked herself sick again. All that stress isn't good. She just needs some rest and some cheering up."

"Fine by me," Serena agreed. "But first, let's get something to eat!"

Her two friends sweat dropped.

"Didn't you just have breakfast?" Lita asked.

"Yeah, but that was almost a whole hour ago," Serena explained as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I need some food."

The other two sighed, but they were far used to Serena's impulsive eating habits.

"Hey, look at that girl over there," Mina stated before Serena had time to order anything. "Isn't she the same one from last night?"

"Yeah, she is," Lita confirmed. "What's she doing here? Shouldn't she be taking that test with the others?"

"Maybe she's finished already," Mina offered.

"Maybe she's not smart enough to take it," Serena smirked.

"Look who's talking," Mina mumbled, causing Serena to fall out of her chair. Her gaze returned back to Robyn. "Look, she's all by herself. Maybe we should invite her to come join us."

"Are you crazy?" Serena screeched. "Do you remember when she saw us last night? She must think we're insane! Maybe we should get out of here before she thinks we're stalking her or something. Right Lita? LITA!" Serena squeaked out the name when she saw her friend walk right up to the table and sit down across from the red haired girl with her magazine.

Robyn's attention was suddenly lost from the article in front of her. She had the feeling she was being watched. She lowered her magazine and was a bit surprised to see a tall, brunette girl about her age with a pony tail sitting across from her.

"Hi," Lita chirped pleasantly.

".....hi," Robyn replied, unsure of what this stranger wanted.

"My friends and I saw you over here by yourself and I was just wondering if you would like to sit with us."

Robyn looked across the place to see the two blonde girls crouched guiltily in their booth. They waved weakly when Robyn gazed their way.

"So how about it?" Lita pressed.

"Well, I've got all this stuff on the table already," Robyn said, motioning to her breakfast which practically took up the whole table.

"Not a problem," Lita assured her, not about to give up. She grabbed the two large plates of pancakes and fruit and started off. "Come on."

Robyn took in a deep breath, grabbed her magazine and followed. Serena eyed the plates hungrily as Lita set them down and resumed her seat next to the drooling blonde. Robyn came over and sat on the other side of the booth next to Mina.

"Hi," Mina said cheerfully.

Robyn looked at her strangely and raised an eye brow. "Hey, haven't I seen you guys somewhere before?"

The group froze.

"Oh yeah. You were the guys following us around and hiding behind that bench last night," Robyn exclaimed at her realization. "That's where I saw you from."

The group sweat dropped at being discovered.

"You know," Robyn went on as if it were the norm. "It's nice and all that you have a thing for Rowen or whatever, but you might not want to follow him around all the time. It gives him an ego and makes him hard to deal with."

The group still sweat dropped.

"So you're not mad?" Serena probed. "And you don't think we're weird?"

"Nah! I've seen worse, trust me. By the way, I'm Robyn."

"Lita."

"Mina."

"I'm Serena," she said, eying the fruit plate in front of her. "You're not going to eat all that by yourself, are you?"

Robyn gave a protective look to the one eye-balling her food. "Maybe. I guess you can have some, but I call dibs on the strawberries."

"Fine by me," Serena grinned as she dug into the banana and orange slices.

"So what are you doing here if you didn't take the test?" Lita asked to start a conversation. "Did you come to support.....your boyfriend?"

Robyn laughed right out. "No, I took the test. I just did it a bit faster than most. And Rowen is definitely not my boyfriend."

"Really?" Mina asked, now getting into the discussion.

"Nope. That would be just what I need, another deadbeat boyfriend," Robyn snorted sarcastically.

"So he's up for grabs?" Mina asked again.

"As far as I know. Though you might change your mind about him when you actually meet him. He's kind of--Hey! Back off! Those are MY pancakes!"

Serena looked up guiltily from where she was attempting to steal one.

"But I'm STARVING," she whined without any apology.

The girls ended up ordering more food and they ate it together as they chatted. In that small amount of time, Robyn managed to learn a few things about these strangers who had invited her over. Lita loved to cook and Mina was a cat person--much like herself. Serena obviously had a big appetite and she also had a boyfriend who was out of town. When the food was gone and the plates cleared off, the conversation was still going. Robyn was having fun talking with these girls. It was definitely a lot different than the usual conversations she had with the Ronins. It was a pleasant change.

"Oh my gosh!" Mina suddenly exclaimed in a hushed voice. She had glanced behind her and then suddenly turned back around, hand covering her mouth.

"What?" Serena wanted to know.

Mina looked like she had just stumbled upon the find of the century. "Don't look now, but four of the cutest guys on Earth just walked through the door."

Thoroughly interested, Lita looked up. Her back wasn't to the front door like Mina and Robyn's were. She could clearly see anyone who came into the cafe.

"Babe city!" the brunette agreed, her eyes going twice as wide.

"Don't sit there and gawk at them!" Mina hissed, causing Lita to break her trance.

"Wow," Serena agreed. "What a bunch of hunks!" She shook herself. "But my Darien is still way cuter!"

"Would you shut up about Darien!" Mina demanded. She stole another quick glance at the young men behind her. "Oh wow, check out the blonde one," she whispered to Lita. "Isn't he to die for?"

"Yeah....." Lita said, off in her dream world again.

"Quit staring at them!" Mina demanded. There was a pause as all the girls stared at the table top. "What are they doing now?" Mina then wanted to know.

Lita glanced up. "They're just standing there, like they're looking for something. I wonder if they're lost."

"I want to see them," Robyn announced.

"No, don't look," Mina ordered. "They'll think we're just a bunch of flakes if they catch us staring at them."

Robyn glanced back anyway.

"THOSE guys?" she asked dubiously, one eyebrow quirked.

Mina nodded and sighed heavily. "Wouldn't it be great if they came over and talked to us?"

"Yeah, like that will happen," Serena mumbled.

"Dream on Mina," Lita agreed.

"I'll talk to them," Robyn offered.

"You'll what?" Mina shot out.

"I'll go bring them over here."

"No wait! Don't!" Lita cried, her cheeks flushed at the thought. "You don't have to do that!"

"Sure I do, just wait a second."

"She's crazy!" Mina announced.

The three girls watched with wide eyes as Robyn strolled calmly up to the group of young men loitering by the front door. None of them seemed to have noticed her as of yet. She was about to approach the closest one, the blonde, when she tripped. The three girls at the booth moaned as Robyn collided into the handsome stranger, knocking him forward.

"Oh no! She's dead!" Mina cried.

"Poor girl," Lita sympathized. "How's she going to live through that?"

The blonde young man turned around and glared at his attacker. But Robyn didn't seem phased at all.

"Oh my gosh Sage! I am so sorry!" She tried to look seriously apologetic, but a smile was breaking through. "Did you see that? Someone pushed me, I swear!"

Sage smirked at her, indicating that he didn't buy that story. It was an old joke Robyn had used on them before.

"There you are!" Kento announced as he grabbed Robyn in a headlock. "We were wondering if we came to the right place. Where were you hiding?"

Lita, Mina, and Serena's eyes all collectively bugged out of their heads.

"She KNOWS them!?" Serena squeaked.

"We must have sounded like total idiots to her," Mina cried.

Robyn laughed as if she had heard them. "Oh, I was just sitting with those girls hiding in that booth over there. Come on in and sit down. Rowen still isn't done yet so we've got to wait for him anyway."

The three embarrassed girls all stared at their table as Robyn grabbed Kento's arm and started pulling him to their booth. The other three young men followed behind them. The booth the girls were at was a small one and could have never held all of them so Robyn led her friends to the one right beside it. The guys took a seat as Robyn continued standing between the two parties.

"You didn't tell us you knew them!" Serena grabbed her arm and hissed at her.

Robyn shrugged. "Guys, here's the girls I was sitting with. They've got a friend doing the test, too. Rowen knows her I think. Anyway, this is Mina, Lita, and.....Serena? Right? And these are my friends. That's Ryo, Sage, Kento over there, and that's Cye."

The girls laughed nervously and waved. The boys glanced at them and nodded.

"So what's to eat here?" Kento announced. "I'm starving!"

Robyn went to sit back with the girls while Kento ordered food. He dove in eagerly while Ryo would try to steal pieces for himself when he could. Cye eyed them both and then got up.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked the girls. More specifically, Robyn. "Kento's grossing me out."

"Sure," Robyn grinned, scooting over to make room for him.

Cye sat down and nodded his hellos to all the girls again. Mina couldn't help but blush slightly. He had beautiful green eyes. His accent was quite cute as well.

It was about this time that two blue haired teens--a guy and a girl--walked into the cafe. The young man walked purposefully up to the first table.

"Robyn, I can't believe you," he berated.

Robyn immediately sank into her chair and silently pleaded for Cye to save her.

"You threw the test, didn't you?" Rowen demanded. "I can't believe you did that! You just threw away your chance to go to any college here you wanted."

Robyn shot him a look. "Who said I wanted to go to college in Japan anyway?"

That statement took away all the indignation he had Rowen was left feeling a bit helpless.

"Robyn," he floundered.

The young girl shook her head. "Go sit down with the guys, you can yell at me later."

Looking beat, Rowen trudged off. Ami almost felt sorry for him. But Rowen instantly perked up when he saw what was at the next table.

"Hey, is that funnel cake?"

"Back off Rowen," Kento growled. "This is mine."

"Come on Kento," Rowen pleaded, taking a seat next to Sage. "Gimmi some. I haven't eaten any breakfast."

"Well I haven't eaten since breakfast," Kento countered. "Get your own!"

"That fog sure has gotten thick lately," Ami commented while Rowen and Kento continued to fight at the next table. She was now sitting beside Lita. "Are you going back home today?"

"Well, we were planning on it," Cye replied as he looked out the window. "But it does look pretty bad. Maybe we should wait until it clears up."

"Or maybe we should get on the road before it gets worse," Robyn added, sounding worried.

"At any rate, we probably should go," Cye decided as he stood. "It was nice meeting all of you."

The girls smiled and nodded. The Ronins at the next table caught the hint and started to get up as well.

"Come on Rowen, let's go," Ryo said.

"But I'm still hungry," the bearer of Strata whined.

"Come on Rowen, we'll order you something to eat when we get to the hotel," Robyn assured him.

He reluctantly followed her and the remaining girls kept their eyes on the group until they were all out the door.

Rei looked up when a smiling face with pigtails poked into the room. The dark haired girl was sitting cross legged on a pillow, sipping tea at the small table in front of her when her friends stopped over.

"Hiya Rei," Serena sang as she walked in. "Just thought we'd stop by and see how you were feeling." The rest of the girls shuffled in and joined their friend around the table.

"Thanks for coming guys," Rei smiled at them. "I'm feeling better. I just had a rough night."

Mina noticed the hand holding Rei's tea cup was bandaged and she gasped at the discovery.

"Rei! What happened to your hand? Are you okay?"

"It's fine," Rei assured them. "It got a little burned but it's okay. I'm glad you guys stopped by." She put down her tea cup and her face suddenly grew serious. "I had some sort of vision last night, and I don't think it's anything good."

The other four girls around the table suddenly sobered up.

"Is it the Negaverse?" Lita asked.

"What did you see?" Mina joined in.

"I don't know," Rei shook her head. "I can't really describe what I saw, but I have a feeling something is coming and we all need to stay alert."

The others all nodded and promised they would all stay aware and ready for whatever may come.

On a grass covered hill over looking Tokyo, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stood ready. They gazed on as, from their vantage point, the entire city seemed to be swallowed by an incredibly dense fog such as had never been seen before. It moved almost like a living creature as the city seemed to disappear right before their eyes.

And there the fog sat, like a great beast smothering its prey. It seemed almost to dare those on the outside to defy it. Undaunted, the two soldiers stood ready. The battle was about to begin.


	3. Chapter Three: Trapped in Tokyo

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Three: Trapped in Tokyo

The City of Tokyo was trapped in a relentless blanket of fog. It seemed to fill every street and alleyway, reaching up to almost the very tops of the skyscrapers as they fought to stay above it. But floating above that, undetected by any eye or radar was a cloud. An unnaturally black cloud that never moved from its spot above the city. Nor was it seen, for its creator had rendered it invisible by supernatural powers.

Inside the cloud, it seemed quite solid and was composed of a space fashioned somewhat like a dark throne room. Perched on a high throne so black it seemed almost invisible in the dark; was a figure concealed by the shadows. The dark figure glowered with dead eyes from her seat as she stared across the way into a large, black crystal which jutted up sharply from the floor. The crystal revealed to her a picture of the city below.

As she watched, the figure scratched her long nails on the arm rest. The one they were seeking was there, she could feel it. Now all that was left to do was to locate the victim and condition that individual to fit into her plan. Ironic as it was, it only took one mere mortal to give her the power she needed to destroy this world. It wouldn't be long now.

In a small, single hotel room, five young men piled onto the bed and in the chairs

near by as they watched the weather forecast on tv.

"...Tokyo seems to have been plagued with a dense fog thicker and more dangerous

than any recorded in the city's history. All citizens are encouraged to stay in doors and to

not do any driving until the fog has cleared. In other news...."

"Well, it looks like we're all stuck here for a while," Cye commented as Rowen

changed the channel.

"Looks like," Kento agreed from where he was sitting in one of the chairs. Sage was

in the other, reading a book.

"I'd better call Ma and tell her we're going to be late before she starts sticking

my face on all the milk cartons in Toyama." Kento reached for the phone and began dialing home.

Meanwhile, Rowen was sitting cross legged at the foot of the bed. In front of him were some cartons of Chinese take out. He held one carton in his hand, but seemed to have trouble feeding himself while flipping through the channels at the same time. Ryo, who was sitting at the side of the bed, looked at him and grinned.

"Hey Rowen, you getting that in your mouth fast enough? Or would you like some help?"

Rowen grumbled something at him, most likely an insult. But his mouth was so full of

food that no real words could be formed. He continued stuffing his face when he found a

channel which had a good action movie on it.

"Okay guys," Kento announced as he hung up the phone. "My mom's going to call

everyone at home so we don't rack up a phone bill calling long distance. I told her we might

even have to stay the night if the weather doesn't clear soon."

"I hope it does," Cye said from the opposite side of the bed. "None of us brought

anything for that."

"Aw, it won't be so bad," Kento insisted. "It's not like you've never worn the same

pair of clothes more than once, Cye." He paused as realization dawned on him. "And when

is Robyn going to get out? It's cramped in this dinky little singles room."

Cye grabbed the remote where it rested by Rowen's foot and pushed the mute button.

Most of the Ronins looked towards the door next to the tv where they could now hear sounds

coming from the other room. They couldn't hear sounds of the shower water running any more,

but the radio was still blaring full blast. Roaring dull below it was the familiar motor of a hair

dryer.

Kento listened intently to the voice singing with the radio music.

"Is that Robyn?" he wondered as Cye walked to the door. "She's not too bad."

Rowen turned his head around as Kento made that comment, slurping up a noodle. But he

couldn't look directly at Kento since a smiling Ryo was still sitting in the way.

"Hey Robyn," Cye called as he knocked on the door. "Are you done in there?"

Seconds later, the door flung open, revealing a fully dressed Robyn still singing to the

words of the song playing inside. She only stayed in the doorway long enough to turn on her heel,

almost smacking Cye with her still damp hair, and headed back into the bathroom where she

immediately went back to blow-drying her hair.

"Yes! Freedom!" Kento called as he crawled over the bed to get to the doorway. "Come

on Ryo, let's watch tv in the other room."

"Hey guys, watch it!" Rowen barked as their pilgrimage across the bed almost knocked

his food over.

Neither Hardrock nor Wildfire noticed as they moved to seek more elbow space in the

other room. Kento grabbed the remote while Ryo landed on his stomach, stretched across the

bed. Kento sat on the opposite corner and started flipping through the channels. He happened

upon a promising comedy show but found it a bit difficult to hear the punch lines with the radio

and hair dryer going not too far away.

"Hey Robyn, turn those things off," Kento called. "I'm trying to watch this."

Only the blow dryer turned off before Robyn walked out, hair frizzled and hands on hips.

"Excuse me," she stated. "Whose room are you in?"

"Yeah, but we're your guests," Kento argued. "You're supposed to be nice to us and make

us feel comfortable."

"Humph, uninvited guests," Robyn huffed as she went back into the bathroom. But the hair dryer did not come on again and in a few minutes, the radio was turned off.

Robyn stepped out of the bathroom and up to the bed. She was dressed in a white shirt

which hugged her body, but still remained loose on her and blue jeans that were styled to be

rolled up below the knees. White canvas shoes adorned her feet and her hair was all pulled up

into a pony tail save for a few strands around her face that were too short to stay up. She joined

the two young men on the bed and made Ryo scoot his body over so she could lay on her

stomach between him and Kento.

"So what are we watching?" she then asked.

"Eh, the ending of some sit-com," Kento said as he started flipping through the channels

again.

"Hey Robyn," Ryo said as he looked her in the face. "It's nice to see there's a real person

under there."

"Huh?" a confused Robyn replied.

Ryo flipped at a few hair strands still hanging in front of her forehead with a finger. "You

always wear your hair down. It's like a curtain. It's nice to be able to see your face every now and

then."

Robyn, for once, did not have a reply. All she managed to do was give a small smile and

look shyly away.

"So," Rowen announced after he tossed his food boxes in the trash. He was now leaning

in the doorway that joined the two rooms. "What are we going to do today?"

"Well, that depends, I suppose," Cye said as he stepped past Rowen into the other room.

"Are we seriously staying the night here or are we going to count on the weather getting better

this afternoon and going home?"

Sage's voice was calm but clear from the other room. "The weather here has been too

erratic for us to tell how it's going to be later. Perhaps we should say that if it doesn't clear by a

certain time then we stay here for the night."

The others seemed to agree with that.

"You know, " Rowen put in. "I wouldn't mind staying here one more night. They're

posting our test scores tomorrow. It would be nice to see them then instead of waiting a month for them to be mailed to me. Plus there's a lot of fun stuff to do around this city."

"Yeah, when you can see where you're going," Kento muttered under his breath.

"Oh, that reminds me," Robyn said as she left her spot between the two Ronins on the bed

and bent over a bag sitting next to the lamp. "Here Cye," she continued as she walked towards

him with an object in her hand. "I got something for you."

"What is it?" Cye wondered as Robyn was now making him stand in front of the large

mirror by the bathroom.

"This," Robyn replied simply, draping a deep green shirt over his front and stretching the

sleeves to make sure the size was correct. "Oh, this shade of green is perfect, it matches your

eyes. The material isn't real silk, unfortunately. But it feels like it. You wear this and the girls

won't be able to keep their hands off you."

Cye, who was trying to comment in between Robyn's constant talking, suddenly lost his

voice at that last announcement. He numbly caught the shirt as Robyn dropped it in his hands.

"Robyn," he finally managed to get out. "I--I can't accept this."

Robyn turned to look at him. "Sure you can. You just smile and say 'Thank you, Robyn'."

"But--"

"Say it, Cye."

He looked into her expectant face and swallowed his pride with a deep breath. "Thank

you, Robyn, " he said quietly.

Robyn smiled brightly as she patted his shoulder. "It was no problem."

"Hey, where's my present?" Kento then wanted to know.

Cye shot him a glare but Robyn never missed a beat as she dug into her pocket.

"Here, catch," she called as she tossed him a bright yellow object.

"Is that a yo-yo?" Ryo wondered as he looked at what Kento had.

"Ah, nice!" Kento exclaimed appreciatively as he tried it out. "Check it out Ryo; bounces

right back." Kento stood up and away from the tv. Then he pulled an impressive

Round-the-World and caught the yo-yo again neatly. "Thanks!"

"I thought you'd like it," Robyn grinned. "Since both you and Ryo like playing with them

I've noticed. I just thought it would be fun for all of us to play with."

By now, even Sage had put down his book and got up to see what the group was up to.

"So what are we going to do today then?" he wanted to know.

Everyone looked expectantly at everyone else. No one said a word.

"Well, let's do something," Kento insisted. "We can't sit around and watch tv all day."

"I brought my soccer ball," Ryo offered. "It's out in the car."

"Yeah!" Robyn's eyes lit up. "Let's go find a park and play soccer in the fog you guys. It'll

be fun!"

"Sounds good," Kento agreed, turning off the tv.

"Yeah, let's do it," Cye said as he put his new shirt neatly away.

"Great!" Ryo exclaimed as he jumped off the bed. "Let's go!" He led the way out the door

as the group paraded out to the elevator.

"So what else did you guys do yesterday?" Kento asked Robyn as they started down the

hall.

"Oh gee, what did we do Rowen?" Robyn wondered out loud.

"We rented videos," Rowen helped.

"Oh, that's right!" Robyn exclaimed. Then her voice suddenly switched to a badly done

accent. "We watched British comedies all night."

"Right 'o love," Rowen agreed in the same bad accent. "We learned some cool new

phrases, eh what?"

"Like what?" Kento, who was now chuckling, wanted to know.

"Like uh...."

"Nancy," Robyn announced.

"Oh right," Rowen continued faking the English accent. "Cye, you're such a nancy."

"I am not!" Cye insisted. "And are you guys making fun of my accent!?"

"NO!" both Robyn and Rowen denied in a boisterous British voice.

"Well, it's not funny," Cye insisted. "Is it guys?"

Ryo was already sprinting for the elevator so no one would see his tears of laughter. Sage

was right behind him. Cye sighed as they all stepped into the box.

"Anything else you two did that would make my day go better?" Cye asked sarcastically.

"That's pretty much it," Rowen said.

"Except for the fact we got banned for life from a Toys-R-Us store," Robyn remembered.

"How'd you pull that off?" Kento laughed.

"We were just trying out their scooters," Robyn insisted. "No one got hurt and we didn't

break anything. Not even when Rowen knocked over that display case."

All those not involved with the previously mentioned fiasco shook their heads as the

elevator doors closed behind them.

It took several minutes of wandering around town and asking what people they happened

upon, but the group finally managed to locate the park. The teams were split up by just whoever

happened to be standing where when they decided to start playing. So it ended up being Ryo,

Rowen, and Cye against Sage, Kento, and Robyn. The fog wasn't too bad there. At least they

could somewhat find the goals they had crafted on either side of the large grass field.

Within ten minutes into the game Kento and Rowen had gotten into two mock fights

because they kept confronting each other when one or the other got the ball. The threats

were all talk, of course. But it was funny to watch the two bully each other around. The second

time, Robyn was laughing so hard at their antics that she could hardly move as Ryo easily maneuvered the ball past her and made another goal. This resulted in Kento getting after Sage for being a lousy goalie.

But the game rolled on and everyone was having a great time. Cye kept complaining to

Ryo--their resident soccer pro--to quit head-butting the ball as just watching it gave him a

headache. But it was obvious that this was Ryo's sport and he continued tearing up the field until

Kento's team was behind by several points and he was demanding another player to counteract

Wildfire's superior soccer skills.

"Don't worry about it," Robyn said right after. "We're doing okay. Look who has the ball

Kento."

He looked.

"Rowen, this time you're mine!" he announced as he started after him.

The two once again clashed and wrestled for the ball. There was a mad hustle of feet until

someone connected and the ball shot off to the side. Ryo, being the soccer shark that he was,

started instantly after it. But Robyn was also charging right for it. She saw that her and Ryo

would probably get there at the same time. But instead of slowing to prevent a collision, Robyn

poured on the speed. Ryo wasn't about to slow down either. The two hit at full tilt at the same

time. Robyn's lighter weight flew backwards and the ball flew out of bounds. Ryo was standing

on his toes over her, arms pinwheeling to get his balance so he wouldn't fall on top of her.

Ryo managed to gain his balance and couldn't find any real damage from the collision.

Robyn, however, remained on the ground. Her heaving chest was the only thing that moved.

"Hey, you okay?" Ryo asked while Rowen was retrieving the ball.

There was a groan in response and Robyn's finger shot up to point at him.

"I don't like you any more."

"Oh come on, don't blame me," Ryo insisted. "You knew before we started that we play for keeps." He offered his hand to her to help her up. "If you didn't want to get hurt you shouldn't

have gone for the ball like that."

"Yeah, yeah," Robyn mumbled as she let Ryo pull her to her feet. "My fault, I know. You

sure have sharp elbows though," she added as she rubbed her side.

"You'll live." Ryo patted her shoulder good naturedly then took off again as the ball was

already in play once more.

"Yeah, but you just better watch out next time," Robyn called after him. "You're on my

list, buddy."

"Oh, you hear that guys?" Kento called from the field. "You got Robyn mad. You're all

going down now."

That comment only earned him a few chuckles from the other team and the game

continued on. After his last charge plus all the other running he had been doing, Ryo was a bit

winded. He remained at the ready off to the side while Kento and Rowen were now charging for

the ball. They attempted what Ryo and Robyn had done a few minutes earlier; resulting in Rowen

being plowed over by Kento.

The bearer of Hardrock now had no one in front of him as he charged for the opposing

goal. Cye was the closest and immediately raced after him. But he knew from previous games he

wasn't good enough to get the ball away from Kento so he tried a different approach. In a fit of

silliness, Cye suddenly jumped on Kento's back in attempts to slow him down; hopefully long

enough for Ryo to catch up and take the ball the right way.

His plan only partly worked, however. While Kento had slowed down so he could

properly yell at and try to removed Cye from him, Ryo was laughing so hard he was having a

hard time running straight. But he finally got there and their confrontation turned into the

predicted foot tussle which ended in the ball being kicked far off to the side-- into the fog and out

of sight.

"I got it," Robyn, who was closest to the sidelines, called.

With that she trotted out of the field to search through the dense fog for the missing ball.

Behind her she heard Sage calling he was coming to help since it was obvious it would be more

difficult to locate the soccer ball than usual. Almost instantly past the field boundaries, the foliage got dense. Robyn had to root around through a bunch of ferns and bushes before she found what she was looking for.

"There you are," she told the ball as she bent to retrieve it.

It was strange that Robyn never heard anyone coming through the thick growth of plants.

But she was hardly given time to think about it when she stood and saw who was standing before

her. He was a slightly stout man. Not too tall. His eyes were dark and stern. They peered at her

with a scrutinizing gaze under bushy red eyebrows. They were the same color as the reddish mass

the grew in matted clumps on his head and also the unshaved stubble on his chin. He dressed in

dark clothes with a brown overcoat to cover his slightly hunched frame.

Robyn gasped when she saw him. Hugging the soccer ball close, she instantly backed

away only to hit into something solid behind her. She gazed upward in fear and saw familiar

stormy violet eyes peering down at her. Sage was taken aback to see such a look of fear on her face. His eyes shot over to see what she was so afraid of and saw the man standing there.

"Who are you?" he asked the man, stepping in front of Robyn as he did so.

The stranger only grunted in reply. He looked directly at Robyn as if Sage wasn't even

there.

"Still messing up people's lives?" he asked her in a gruff voice. "You were always good at

that."

By this time, the others were wondering what had become of their friends and had gone

after them. Ryo was the first to appear from the fog with Cye and Kento right behind him and

Rowen at the back. Even before he could see the situation clearly, Ryo sensed that something was

wrong.

"You ruin everything you touch," the man continued in a hateful tone. "Do your friends know that? How long are you going to force them to put up with you? Do you enjoy watching

people's lives go down the toilet?"

Most of the Ronins looked on in confusion. Cye stepped forward, his gaze stern.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the man evenly.

The older man threw him a dirty look. "Why don't you mind your own business, kid?" he

wanted to know.

"This is my business," Cye insisted, getting right in his face.

The Ronins were still in the dark as to what was going on or to who this man really was.

Robyn was frozen where she stood, the ball still clutched at her chest as she remained backed against Sage.

"Wait a minute, I know you," the stranger announced, wagging a finger in Cye's face.

"You're that little Mouri brat that used to live next door. Man, I thought you were a little off kid, but I didn't think you were crazy. What's the matter with you?"

Robyn couldn't stand it. She didn't want Cye having to answer for what he did for her.

"Dad please, stop it!" she cried.

All the Ronins stared at her. Dad? Was it possible?

The man looked at Robyn, a hateful growl on his lips.

"Watch it, you have no right to talk to me like that. Not after what you did to your

mother."

"No, Daddy...." Robyn pleaded softly.

"It's your fault she's dead. You tore our family apart. This all happened because of you."

Robyn stood there trembling, looking like his words had taken solid form and knocked

her square in the face. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something. A tear ran

down her cheek before she turned on her heels and fled. Quickly, she pushed past Ryo, Kento,

and Rowen and disappeared into the fog.

"Robyn!" Cye called after her, but she was already gone. Clenching his fists, Cye

growled, ready to give the man behind him the knuckle sandwich he had been saving for so long. But when he turned around to give it to him, Robyn's father had disappeared. But somehow his laugh seemed to waft up from the fog to taunt him.

"Cye, was that really....." Ryo asked in a hushed voice.

Cye breathed out deeply before turning to face his friends. "Let's find Robyn first."

The others nodded and they all started out into the fog in their search.

Meanwhile, Robyn ran as far and fast as her legs would carry her. She didn't care where

she was going as long as it was far away from that horrid figure still taunting in her head. Tears

spilled hotly down her cheeks, blurring her vision. Robyn ran further into the undergrowth as the

park melted into a forest. But Robyn didn't care if she got lost or if anyone ever found her again.

Running was the only thing she knew how to do at this point and she would keep doing it as long

as she could.

Sharp thorns and twigs slashed at her arms, legs and face, but Robyn rushed forward. She

welcomed the pain. It made the great torture in her chest seem less painful. She would welcome

any amount of physical pain if it caused the gaping hole inside her to go away. Robyn lost her

footing as she plunged into a very shallow stream. Her shoes were wet and her knees were

scraped from the rocks. But up she got again and continued to run.

But her frightened, angry journey was suddenly cut short when she collided with

something hard but springy and was tossed backwards to the ground. Robyn rubbed her eyes to

get a clear view of what was in her way. A chain link fence separating the public park lands from

private property stood opposingly in front of her. Robyn breathed out heavily and slumped to the

ground. She didn't have the strength to climb it. In the stillness of the fog she could hear familiar

voices calling her name. All she could do now was hunch over and wait to be found.

While he could hear his other comrades calling Robyn's name through the fog, Kento stayed quiet. He had heard something crashing through the forest earlier and decided to just keep silent and run after the sound. He hoped to himself that he was chasing after the right person. Kento paused when the forest went quiet. Whatever he was chasing didn't seem to be running any more so he continued on slowly and stealthily as he crossed a small river and started up a grassy hill.

Somewhere in the fog he heard sobbing now and continued on until he spotted a figure hunched miserably next to a chain link fence. It tore Kento's heart open to see Robyn hurt like that; but he spoke not a word as he walked up and sat down beside her.

"Robyn?" he finally asked gently. "Are you going to be okay?"

"No Kento," Robyn exclaimed bitterly through her tears. "No, I'm not going to be okay!" She paused to swallow and added in a calmer voice. "Not for a long time."

"Why not?" Kento prodded gently. "So what if you saw your dad? You can get over it. We're all here for you, okay?"

"No, you don't know what it was like," Robyn sobbed. "I hate him! I hate him!"

Kento watched with silent awe as she slammed her fist to the ground with each exclamation. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to hate a parent. He also couldn't imagine Robyn really hating anybody. So with those two concepts beyond his reach, Kento was finding himself on very unsteady ground.

"Robyn," he fumbled. "Do you really mean that? How--how can you....?"

"You don't understand," Robyn cried. "He didn't do anything. He knew my mother was sick and he didn't do anything to help her. He would just sit there and watch sometimes when my mother did things to me and never do or say something about it. He didn't--wouldn't do anything for either of us and he blames me! I hate him! I hope he rots in hell!"

Robyn pounded both her fists on the grassy ground and then crumbled into uncontrollable sobs. Kento was quick to gather her up in his arms and held her tight against him while Robyn clutched at his shirt and dampened the front of it with her tears. All Kento could do in return was merely hold her until she was all cried out.

Looking up, Kento was surprised to see the form of Ryo standing a few feet off, partially hidden in the fog. How much he had heard was anyone's guess. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his face was a mask that hid all he was feeling. He must have been taking lessons from Sage. Kento motioned for Ryo to keep quiet and to come over and sit by them without calling to any of the others.

Robyn's sobs were slowly subsiding. The two young men continued to sit there patiently; Kento looking at Ryo while he looked down at his hands. But both looked straight ahead when strange sounds began emitting from the dark forest. Strange, piercing lights shot through the fog. What on earth was it? Kento stiffened when he felt an odd sensation tickling at the back of his mind. Something deep; digging down to the very heart of his armor. Almost like someone was using his own powers not far away.

"Ryo, here," he spoke softly, motioning for Ryo to come take his place holding their friend.

"What is it?" Ryo asked with a bit of urgency. "What do you think it is Kento?"

He moved his arms protectively around Robyn. She had stopped crying for the most part now and looked up at Kento as well.

"I don't know," Kento admitted as he stepped closer where the lights were flashing. It sounded too familiar out there. Like a battle. And it was getting closer. "Something is reacting with my armor out there. I can feel something.....so similar. I'm not sure what it is."

Kento jumped and Ryo grabbed Robyn and ducked as an energy beam shot out in their direction, completely annihilating any trees in its wake. Robyn clutched Ryo tighter, wondering what was going on. Kento jumped to his feet again, thinking he was ready for whatever else would come their way. But he wasn't ready for the body flying through the air right towards him.


	4. Chapter Four: Keeping Chapter Three Shor...

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Four: Keeping Chapter Three Short

The unidentified body slammed squarely into Kento and the momentum was still strong enough that both of them went flying into a nearby tree. The width of it was about a foot. But even then, the two bodies still carried enough power to snap it before they crashed to the ground. Ryo lifted his head to see where his companion had gone, but Kento had flown farther than the fog allowed him to see. Robyn trembled in his arms. The shock from everything that had been going on seemed to have overwhelmed her.

Sailor Uranus groaned as she came to a stop. Her head was still spinning from the collision. She remembered flying through the air and then vaguely recalled hitting into someone else. She slowly dared to move her limbs and soon found a few nasty bruises; but luckily no broken bones.

By the way Sailor Uranus figured, she was lucky to even be alive; let alone in one piece. Especially after crashing into that tree. Oh no! The tree! The person she collided with must have taken the brunt of the hit. She quickly scrambled off of the body under her and inspected it. It was a young man. He had dark skin and hair. But what Sailor Uranus noticed the most was the orange and white metal that wrapped around the shape of his body. She could have sworn he wasn't wearing it in the split second when she hit him. Where did it come from?

The young man lay sprawled out motionlessly on his back like he was dead. Was he? Sailor Uranus reached out to feel the pulse on his neck when his eyebrow twitched. She instantly pulled back when the young man showed signs of life. He let out a small groan as his eyes fluttered open.

"Oh man, what happened?" Kento moaned. He turned his head to look at the blonde woman by his side. "Who are you?"

"Never mind me, are you okay?" Sailor Uranus said with concern. "You broke that tree when we hit it. Can you move at all?"

Kento blinked and then propped himself up on his elbows. His body looked in tact. He lifted a leg and then sat up. Sailor Uranus watched in awe as Kento got to his feet easily, looking like nothing even happened.

"Everything looks good here," he said, inspecting his armor. Not even a scratch. His smile fell when he saw Sailor Uranus staring at him. "What?"

All the blonde woman could do was blink. "How--how did you--"

"Kento!" Ryo called as he appeared through the fog. He had Robyn by the wrist who followed obediently after him, a blank expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

"As good as ever Ryo," Kento replied with his usual charisma.

Sailor Uranus looked over at the other young man. He had dark skin and black hair and even though he was dressed normal, he didn't seem surprised at all to see the other young man in his strange metal armor. He did, however, manage to gawk at the taller, blonde woman dressed in the short skirt and bows.

"Who...?" he started to ask.

"LOOK OUT!" called a female voice from somewhere above.

Out of nowhere, another woman in the same odd outfit with wavy green hair appeared and lunged at Ryo and Robyn, tackling them out of the way. Sailor Uranus did the same for Kento in the opposite direction. Microseconds later, a large and powerful energy beam completely vaporized the entire spot they were standing on. Even from the places they had taken cover in, the fallout still rattled their bodies as the energy subsided.

"Oh man," Kento cried. "What the heck did that come from?"

"Just wait," Uranus muttered under her breath.

Kento watched. Out of the fog dropped......something. Something not as big as Kento expected it to be. It crouched and growled like an animal, though its mass couldn't even compare to White Blaze's if he were there. All Kento could see at first was a thick bushel of shaggy, silver hair. Long, pointed ears protruded from the mass and twitched excitedly. The thing growled and paced around like a jungle cat. And while its facial features were very much feline, its body--HER body looked quite human.

She was even dressed much like a person. Light black leather pants hugged the bulging muscles of her powerful legs as she crouched. A sleeveless top, deep red like blood, showed off her mid drift and strong shoulders. And while Kento gawked in confusion at the strange creature, Sailor Uranus jumped to her feet.

"Come on and fight!" she challenged. "You're no match for me!"

The creature's yellow eyes glowed with power and rage. Sailor Uranus readied her sure kill as she expected her adversary to let loose another energy blast at her. But she was quite surprised when the cat-like creature, instead, pounced at her with a blood-thirsty cry, claws outstretched.

"Uranus!" Sailor Neptune called as her partner froze, eyes wide in fear.

"Not this time!" Kento announced as he stood and knocked the beast aside with a powerful arm.

The creature yelped, but managed to land on her feet, looking a bit stunned at the unforseen attack.

"Uranus, get her now!" Sailor Neptune called.

The taller woman nodded. "Stand back," she told Kento; who surprisingly did what he was told.

Power gathered into her closed fist as she raised it to the air.

"URANUS GROUND SHAKING!"

Like lightning through earth, a surge raced beneath the surface in a zig-zag towards the would-be victim. But the creature lunged high into the air before the ground could explode beneath her feet. Uranus cursed the growling figure now crouched up in the trees. The fog almost covered her location completely.

"Ryo!" a voice called from somewhere in the fog, catching everyone's attention. "Kento, where are you?"

"Over here, Cye," Kento called back.

Mere seconds later, the forms of three more young men appeared through the fog. They arrived just in time to see the growling figure in the trees before she suddenly jumped away to parts unknown.

"Wow, she's fast," Sailor Neptune said worriedly as she approached her partner.

"Yeah, but so are we," Sailor Uranus replied. "Let's go."

Before anyone could call them back, the two leapt higher than was humanly possible and disappeared into the fog as well. The ronins were left in a state of befuddled silence.

"What was that?" Sage finally asked. "Who were those two women?"

"Hookers," Rowen announced with confidence.

"They weren't hookers Rowen," Kento argued. "The taller one with the short hair--she had my powers."

"Your powers?" Cye repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"She had an attack like we do with our armors," Kento tried to explain. "I could feel a tingle down deep in my armor. We have the same element."

Sage scratched his jaw in thought. "So were they good or evil then Kento? Could you tell?"

The bearer of Hardrock shook his head. "I couldn't tell. But they seemed good. Both of them saved Robyn, Ryo and me from looking like that." He pointed to the large burn mark in the ground.

Rowen stared at the size and intensity of the burn. "And that thing in the tree did that?"

"Yeah," Kento nodded. "It was some kind of cat creature or something."

"Could it be from the Dynasty?" Rowen questioned again.

"I don't know Rowen," Sage answered this time. "We can usually sense if a Dynasty presence is anywhere near and I didn't feel anything from that creature."

"But we are going after it, right?" Kento asked, now looking a bit more excited.

"We probably should," Rowen agreed. "Even if it's not from the Dynasty, that creature is still dangerous. We need to make sure that no innocent people get hurt."

"Right," Sage put it. "We're going after it."

"Guys?" Ryo suddenly spoke up softly. "You can go on without me. I'm going to take Robyn back to the hotel."

All eyes were instantly on him. In the midst of the excitement, one thing was forgotten. Cye was instantly at Robyn's side, suddenly regretting they all had to leave after what she had just been through.

"Are you sure Ryo?" Sage asked skeptically. "We don't know exactly what we're going against. We may need the white armor."

Ryo just smiled his usual lopsided grin. "Hey, the way I see it, we won't be able to create the Inferno if any one of us is missing. So why not me? Besides, if you do need help, you can just send me a signal and I'll be right over, alright?"

"Okay buddy," Rowen answered for then. "We'll let you know if we need you. Let's go guys."

Rowen and Sage summoned their subarmors while Cye lingered at Robyn's side.

"Are you going to be okay?" he said to her.

Robyn smiled weakly back. "I'll be fine, just go. You know where to find me when you're done."

Cye smiled at her, summoned his sub armor, and the four ronins took off into the fog. Ryo looked down at Robyn when they were left alone and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Come on," he said kindly. "Let's go."

Robyn leaned against him and let him lead the way back to the motel.

"Do you realize that we have never gone into battle without Ryo before this?" Rowen announced as they ran through the fog.

"There's a first time for everything," Sage replied as their surroundings changed from trees to buildings.

"Looks like we'll finally get to see how well we can do in battle without our fearless leader," Kento announced wistfully.

"And speaking of battle," Sage said as he pointed up.

Flashing lights could be seen through the fog on top of an old warehouse about four stories up.

"How did they get up there?" Kento demanded.

"I suppose this isn't the best time to mention how much I hate cats," Cye quipped.

"We'll discuss it at the next board meeting," Rowen called back. "For now, get ready for the fight. If that burn mark is any indication of the power we're going against, I say we armor up."

The others nodded and readied for battle.

Up above on the roof top, the powerful cat-like creature was giving the two outer senshi a run for their money. She was so fast! The beast would never stay in one place long enough for them to unleash their attacks on her. And at the same time, the creature was letting loose attacks of her own whenever she could. But somehow, Sailor Uranus and Neptune managed to corner the growling animal against the roof exit door.

"We've got it now Uranus," Sailor Neptune said hopefully.

But to their surprise, the cat creature stopped growling and from her throat came a low chuckle. The two scouts looked on in surprise as her crouching and voice became more human-like than animal.

"You think you've got me?" the creature taunted.

"You--you can talk?" Uranus exclaimed.

"More than that!" A high voice exclaimed behind them.

Sailor Neptune hardly knew what was happening before she heard the snap of a whip and the end of it instantly wrapped around her neck. Uranus spun around while Neptune tried to prevent herself from choking. Cruelly holding the other end of the whip was another of those cat creatures, standing upright on the balls of her feet like a human. She had the same color of fur as the other one though she was a bit smaller and her bushy hair was pink instead of silver. But she had the same powerful physique which was wrapped in a dark blue body suit.

"You'll never defeat us!" the new creature continued, tugging on the whip harder and causing a strangled cry from the green haired woman.

"Neptune, I'm coming!" Sailor Uranus cried.

"I think not," the silver haired cat woman growled as she stood upright as well and sent a large energy blast at her.

Sailor Uranus was hit by the brunt of it and sent flying across the roof. Her attacker calmly walked after her as she struggled to get back onto her feet.

"You humans are so gullible," the creature said. Her voice was deep and sultry, yet dangerous. Like poisoned honey. "I can't believe you fell for that. How can you possibly hope to win anything when you always underestimate your opponent?"

Sailor Uranus only glared at her and rubbed away the trickle of blood that ran from her lip.

"Well, I'd say you'll do better next time, but I doubt there will be one," the cat woman continued with a sneer. "Make no mistake about it, we will take over this little planet of yours and our mistress will rule it all. We will conquer this world and get rid of all your pathetic species one by one--starting with...her."

She motioned to the other creature holding Sailor Neptune captive.

"No!" Sailor Uranus cried hoarsely.

The pink haired creature was about to give the death blow when there was a flash of steel and green and then the whip went loose. The cat villain looked down at her whip which had been cut. Her victim was no longer there. A few yards away, Sage held a gasping Sailor Neptune as he freed the binding from her throat. He glared at the two creatures with his intense, stormy eyes.

"Not in this lifetime," he vowed lowly.

"That goes double for us!" Kento announced as three more armored figures landed on the roof.

He and Rowen landed between Sailor Uranus, the latter aiming his arrow at the silver haired villain. Cye touched down between Sage and the pink haired one who was starting to look a bit miffed at the destruction of her weapon. Sailor Uranus, suddenly feeling like she was being attacked on both sides now, backed away from the armored heros.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"We're the ones chosen to protect this world," Rowen announced proudly. "We're the Ronin Warriors!" At least most of them anyway, he added to himself.

"Yeah, and we've promised to rid the world of evil like you," Cye took his cue.

"It's our job to protect the innocence," Sage continued.

"And we're glad to do it, too! Even if we don't get paid," Kento finished.

Cye slapped his palm on his forehead. Leave it to Kento to spoil a good dramatic moment.

The silver haired cat creature didn't seem too impressed either.

"Well Ronin Warriors," she announced with Cheshire grin. "You should count yourselves lucky to be able to fight the famous Amazon Duo. I am the oldest, Katana. And of course, my sister Katara."

"And I am going to make you pay for this one, pathetic green human," announced Katara, the creature with the pink hair.

Still glaring at Sage, she snapped her broken whip. The weapon glowed red and assembled itself together again.

"Now," Katara announced. "You DIE!"

Sailor Neptune got out of the way just in time as the whip wrapped around Sage, pinning his arms and sword to his side. The bearer of Halo cried out as the whip glowed red again. The red light consumed his whole being and Sage could do nothing to block out the pain that surged through his senses. Rowen, whose bow was still drawn, turned to the scene with a wild glint in his eye.

"Hey! That's my friend you're messing with! ARROW SHOCK WAVE!"

Katara instantly ceased her attack as a bolt of energy shot in her direction. The creature gave up her prey and jumped high into the air to avoid the attack.

"And this one's for you!" Cye announced, aiming his yari at Katana. "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

The two scouts, Uranus and Neptune, watched the sure kills in awe. Neptune was paying extra attention to Cye as she felt a tingling in her own soul when the bearer of Torrent used his power.

The two cat sisters landed on their feet next to each other. The expressions on their faces told that they weren't expecting so much resistance as this.

"Those armored humans have powers, too," Katara said to her older sister. "We were not told of creatures such as these."

"Perhaps," answered Katana. "But our powers are still greater--even with their numbers. We can still win."

"Not so fast!" a new voice echoed through the fog and the growing darkness.

Everyone present looked up to see a row of five girls dressed similarly to the other two sailor scouts who were already there. They stood on a roof top above as the fog revealed them. The other four stared downward self-righteously while their leader with the long pig tails continued her speech.

"How dare you two fur balls come out and terrorize our fair city! You thought you could hide from us? There's not enough fog in the world to conceal your misdeeds from the eyes of righteousness! So I suggest you crawl back to whatever hole you came from before we make you sorry. I stand for love! I stand for justice! I am SAILOR MOON!"

"And we're the Sailor Scouts!" chorused the others.

Rowen looked at his wrist as if a watch of some sort had been fashioned onto it.

"Yup," he announced to no one in particular. "My mom always told me this was the time all the weirdos came out in the city."

"Did we stumble onto a movie set or something?" Kento wanted to know. "Because this is just too weird for real life."

The two cat sisters looked on at the ever growing group of enemies.

"Hm, we weren't told there would be this many of them," Katana hissed to her sister.

"No matter! Come on, let's get them!" Katara insisted in her high, excited voice.

"No," Katana stated. "Why waist energy on something that isn't necessary? We still have time. Come on, let's go."

Her younger pink haired sister looked less than happy about it. But nonetheless, both sisters disappeared into a puff of black smoke, leaving their adversaries twin gazes of vengeance. They left the entire group standing in befuddled wonder, but otherwise, not a trace. Now without a foe to fight, the silence drifted slowly through the warriors and scouts.

"Okay, was I the only one who found that just the slightest bit weird?" Kento announced to the stillness.

"For once Kento, I agree," Cye nodded.

"So what do we do now?" Rowen asked. "Anyone have a clue as to what just happened?"

The Ronins, for the most part, turned to the two young woman who were first in the fight. Sailor Neptune looked away, the guilt clearly on her face. She knew. Sailor Uranus refused to reveal anything. She gazed up defiantly at the young woman with the long pig tails standing above her. The other Sailor Scouts looked just as anxious to hear what she might have to say.

"Let's go Neptune," were the only words she spoke.

The other outer senshi looked hesitant, but followed nonetheless. With one last regretful look--thrown to Cye more than anyone--Sailor Neptune took off after her partner as both jumped away and vanished in the fog.

Silence fell again. Almost ignoring the other remaining scouts, the ronins looked at each other questioningly. Ryo wasn't here this time. Who was going to decide for them where they should go from this point?

"Let's go back guys," Sage announced. "There's not much more we can do here."

The other ronins seemed to agree. Even more so when they recalled what they were heading back to and realized they were probably needed there more anyway. The four of them started off when a voice called from above.

"Wait!"

They stopped and turned as the girl who announced herself as Sailor Moon jumped down to their level. Her ever present scouts followed right behind her.

"Tell me," Sailor Moon continued. "Who are you? What on earth were you planning to do here with all those weapons?"

Kento was quick to reply before anyone could stop him. "What were you planning to do here hardly wearing any clothes?"

The scouts couldn't help looking a bit indignant after that remark while Cye took it upon himself to knock Kento one in the head with the butt of his staff.

"Hey, who do you guys think you are anyway?" Sailor Jupiter suddenly announced as she stepped forward. "And how do we know who's side your on? You could be working with those creatures as far as we know."

The ronins looked at each other, obviously not taking anything Sailor Jupiter said very seriously. None of them cared what these girls thought about them.

"Wait a minute," Kento suddenly announced. "Haven't I seen you guys somewhere before?"

Rowen heard the accusation and studied the scouts.

"Ami?" he finally announced, recognizing the one most familiar. "Is that really you?"

"Rowen?" Sailor Mercury replied with equal surprise.

The other scouts gasped in recognization.

"You know these guys?" Sailor Mars demanded.

"Yeah," Sailor Moon replied in awe. "We met them earlier at the restaurant."

Sailor Mars studied the young men again and gasped when her gaze fell upon Sage's face.

i It's the same guy, /i her mind panicked. i And he's wearing the same armor from that vision. But it looked like they were trying to help. Are they really evil? Or were they just pretending to fight those creatures to trick us? /i 

If Sage recognized her at all he didn't show it. He merely started off for the edge of the roof and the other ronins automatically followed.

"Later," Kento called as they left.

"Sorry we couldn't stay longer," Cye finished.

With that, the four young men jumped off the building and disappeared into the fog. Left behind were the five scouts still wondering what to make of the situation--Sailor Mars more than any of them. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something about those young men was wrong.

As the scouts, left with nothing else to do, left to go their own way, a figure stood watching. He was tall and thin, dressed in a sharp black tuxedo with a mask covering his eyes. He had seen the entire battle without revealing himself. He watched the familiar forms of his friends move off in confusion, but he did not plan to join them any time soon. Instead, the silent young man headed off in a different direction with his own ideas in mind.

Ryo sat on the bed next to Robyn with a wet cloth in his hand. She had remained deathly silent all the way back to the hotel room and even now, hadn't spoken a sound. She was covered with all kinds of scratches from her earlier flight through the forest and Ryo was doing his best to patch them up. He had cleaned up the blood on her arms and legs and was now working on a cut across her cheek.

"You're doing it again," Robyn stated out of the blue.

Ryo pulled back and just blinked at her. Robyn turned her head around to look him in the face.

"This is the second time you've had to patch me up."

Ryo smiled slightly. "Anytime."

Robyn sighed heavily and her body suddenly came to life again. "I'm sorry for what I did," she said as she took the cloth from Ryo and applied it herself. "I'm sorry you guys always have to look after me. If it wasn't for me, you would be out there with them right now."

Ryo studied Robyn's profile before nudging her chin with one finger, making her look him in the face.

"Robyn," he said gently. "It's okay. You can let us take care of you. We gladly do it because you're worth it. We all think you're worth it."

In response, the young red head just stared at him. Never had she heard such a baffling statement. Her large, green eyes searched his deep blue ones and looked at him as if seeing him in a brand new light. She then blinked several times as her mouth moved while her brain tried to formulate some kind of appropriate response.

Lucky for her, Ryo wasn't about to make the situation worse than it already was. After giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, he promptly hopped onto the bed and picked up the remote.

"Do you know if anything good is on tonight?" he asked as he leaned against the head board and started flipping through the channels.

It took Robyn a minute to recover from the sudden change of conversation. "Uh, no, I can't think of anything."

"Okay, we'll just see what we can find then."

Robyn watched for a moment as the different shows flipped by. Ryo finally came upon the last half of a movie he had already seen but decided to watch it anyway. Robyn remained sitting on the edge of the bed for several minutes longer as Ryo got into his movie. But after a while, Robyn crawled onto the bed and curled up on her side facing Ryo. She lay there silently, watching him as he watched the tv. Her mind wandered as she thought about him and about the others and about all that had happened that day. The movie was over when she finally brought herself out of her mental meanderings.

"Ryo," she said softly, still managing to capture his attention.

He looked down at her questioning face, his eyes intense and deep as always.

"Tell me about your father, please?"

"My father?" Ryo clarified. "Why would you want to hear about him?"

"Cye said you and your dad used to fight a lot. I just want to hear a little bit about him, and about you. I really don't know much about you at all Ryo. Will you tell me?"

Ryo looked down at her face and something in her expression made a foreign emotion rise up in his soul. She wasn't asking much. He could give it to her.

"My dad was the only family I had while growing up. My mom died when I was really young. I don't even remember her at all. And even though it was always just me and my dad, I never felt like I really knew him. It was like there was this invisible wall always between us that stopped us from reaching each other. It just got worse when I got older. We were like two strangers living in the same house."

Ryo looked away as a strange smile played on his face. "He's a wildlife photographer you know. All the kids thought it was the coolest thing. But I thought it was, too. So it was okay for him to leave me alone for weeks at a time to do that. Plus I always had White Blaze to keep me company. I think I was thirteen when I got my armor and that's when things really started to change."

The smile disappeared and Ryo stared hard at his lap as he went on. "I suddenly had this huge responsibility I had to tend to. It was okay in the beginning because he was always gone. I didn't have to explain to anyone if I came home late. It was when he did stay home then it became a problem."

Robyn furrowed her brows as a different expression covered Ryo's face. It looked almost as if he were fighting some internal battle now.

"I couldn't explain it to him," Ryo went on in almost a strained voice. "I tried several times to tell him. I don't know if he couldn't understand or if he just didn't want to. To this day I'm still not sure how much about my armor and myself he really knows. The day I met the others was the day I had to run away from home because I knew he wouldn't let me go if I asked.

"That was the time Talpa came out and tried to take over the mortal world--our world. I was gone for several months during that. When it was all over, he wanted me to come back." Ryo gave a humorless laugh at that statement. "It was the first time he didn't want any explanation; didn't want to hear where I had been or what I had done."

Ryo clenched his fists as his anger started to suddenly bubble up inside him. "He didn't care what I had gone through during that. He didn't care if it was the hardest time in my life--that I had never felt so lost like that before. He didn't care that I had to watch my friends suffer time after time for his sake; for everyone's sake. It didn't matter to him that we almost died to save this world."

Ryo was on the verge of loosing himself in the memories when he felt a hand close gently around his wrist. He looked down at Robyn whose expression was a mixture of sympathy and admiration.

"You five really did save this world?" she asked in awe.

"We did," Ryo answered truthfully.

i And how many people on this earth have gone on not knowing their lives have been spared by the sacrifices of these? /i Robyn wondered to herself.

"How did you end up with your grandma?" she asked out loud.

"It was shortly after the battle was over. My dad wanted me to come back to our old home and live with him way out in the mountains. But I couldn't do that. I couldn't live so far away from the others. The greatest thing my dad ever did for me was let me live with my grandma."

Robyn smiled. "And you're lucky to have her Ryo, you really are. She's so cool."

Ryo suddenly smiled. "Yeah, she is. I am lucky, aren't I?"

With her head still resting on her pillow, Robyn smiled and nodded. Ryo breathed out deeply as he leaned back and rested his head against the wall, gazing up at the ceiling. For a stretch of time he was blinded to the real world as his memories swam through the years and he counted up and weighed the different hardships and blessings he had experienced throughout his life. Ryo wasn't sure exactly how long he had been thinking, but he finally looked down again when he realized Robyn's hand was still resting on his wrist. Further investigation found that Robyn was fast asleep.

Ryo blinked several times as the full reality of what was going on hit him. His gaze lingered on the small hand touching him. His fingers twitched slightly as he thought about removing his hand from the sleeping girl's grasp. But when he tried to raise his arm, something stopped him. It was a feeling more than anything else. An emotion he never expected to be there. A small twinge in his head and another in the corner of his heart made his hand stay still and revel at the touch of another human being which he got so seldom. For a split second he felt he would be on the verge of tears if anything were to cause the touch to be broken away from him.

"Hey Ryo, you still up?" Kento called as the door suddenly opened.

Ryo's hand moved away instantly as the other four ronins came in.

"Yeah, I'm still awake," he said as he got off the bed and stood to greet his companions. Perhaps he stood up too fast.

"How's Robyn?" Cye asked, looking down at the slumbering form.

"Asleep," Ryo replied. "I think she'll be okay. So how was the fight?"

"In a word--bizarre," Rowen answered for them all.

"Oh yeah, you gotta hear about this Ryo," Kento added as he put an arm around Ryo's shoulders. "Come into the other room and we'll tell you all about it."

The bearer of Wildfire listened carefully as he was relayed the night's events. When the story was finished, he was just as lost as those who were present at the scene. But that couldn't be helped now. It was late and everyone needed rest.

The sleeping accommodations weren't the best, but it was all they had. Rowen gave up half of his bed to share with Sage while Ryo crashed on the small space of open floor left in the room. Kento got the floor in the other room while Cye, after much hesitance, joined Robyn on the bed. Of course, he slept on top of the covers after tucking Robyn in beneath them.

He was the last one in bed and the last to turn off the light. Robyn's back was now facing him as he settled down for the night.

"Good night," he whispered and then closed his eyes.

What he never saw in the darkness was Robyn's worried green eyes were now wide open.


	5. Chapter Five: Reluctant Retreats

Author's Notes: Hope everyone is enjoying this so far. Thanks so much to everyone who has been commenting on this story and also has commented on DitD. Especially with constructive criticism, I really appreaciate it. Thanks so much for reading! .

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Five: Reluctant Retreats

Large, green eyes opened slowly as the result of silent shuffling in the stillness. Robyn raised her head slightly and looked around. It was still early in the morning; the sun was just barely starting to come up over the horizon. Only a small amount of light managed to sneak in through the closed curtains of the hotel room. In the dimness Robyn made out a figure passing by the open doorway that connected the two rooms.

"Rowen?" she called to the shuffling.

The movement in the other room stopped and then Rowen poked his head out where it could be seen.

"Where are you going?" Robyn continued to ask as she sat up.

Rowen put a finger to his lips and motioned her to follow him. He was already dressed and ready for the day, which was surprising considering his usual sleeping habits. Robyn was still in the clothes she wore the day before. She slipped out of the bed, placing the covers over Cye who was still fast asleep beside her. After stepping over Kento's slumbering mass on the floor, Robyn followed the bearer of Strata out of the room and into the hallway.

"What in the world are you up to this early in the morning, Rowen Hashiba?" Robyn asked outright when he closed the door.

"Come on and I'll show you," came the reply.

Just like Rowen to never give a straight answer when asked. Robyn could do little else but obediently follow. Suddenly realizing what kind of state her hair was in, Robyn pulled it out of its lop-sided pony tail and combed her fingers through it to smooth it down. She proceeded to braid the mess of red while they got into the elevator. She thought it odd when Rowen pushed the button to go up instead of down. Where was he going?

They eventually ended up on the hotel roof. Rowen walked bravely right out in the middle of the roof top and looked around. The fog was still as thick and stubborn as it was the day before. It was as if nothing could ever make it decide to leave.

"Rowen, what exactly are we doing on the roof?" Robyn wondered.

Rowen looked down at her before digging into his pocket as if that would suffice for an answer. Robyn's eyes grew a bit wider when he produced a glowing blue orb. Rowen held it out in his open palm for her to observe. His expression turned one to amusement at the way Robyn studied the shining object.

"Go ahead, touch it," he encouraged.

Robyn hesitated as she timidly reached out a finger to make contact with the miraculous orb. Mere millimeters from touching it, a tiny electric surge arced out and shocked her. It didn't hurt at all, but Robyn pulled back at feeling its power. Rowen just smiled wider before he closed his hand around it. Light suddenly surged between his fingers as a result and in an instant, blue and white armor adorned his body and his hand was empty.

"Not bad, huh?" Rowen stood tall as he looked over his sub armor like it was the first time he had ever worn it. Robyn just smiled and let him show off.

"Stand back," he then instructed.

Wondering why, Robyn took a few cautionary steps backwards. Rowen looked steadfastly up at the grey sky before clenching his fists and summoning his power.

"Armor of Strata! Dao inochi!"

Robyn had to cover her face as a blinding light seemed to engulf her friend's entire being. When it was gone, it left a young man dressed fully in deep blue armor. In one swift motion, Rowen of the Strata drew his magnificent bow. Reaching behind him, a golden arrow appeared in his fingers. He strung the arrow with the skill of a master and pointed the tip heavenward.

"Rowen, what are you doing?" Robyn wanted to know. She was having a hard time following Rowen's motives in all this.

The armored figure only spared her a quick glace before returning his gaze to his target. "Just making sure we get out of this crazy city today."

He let the golden arrow fly high, high up into the overbearing grey clouds smothering the sky. Robyn tried to follow its path, but the arrow raced ever higher until it disappeared from view. She then again looked to Rowen for answers but the bearer of Strata wasn't paying attention. Instead, his eyes were closed and he seemed to be concentrating. Robyn looked skyward again just in time to see a stream of blue lightning shoot madly from above. It seemed almost as if the sky were enraged at what was shot at it.

The wind began to pick up about then. Rowen was already starting to armor down into his civilian clothes again. Robyn hardly noticed and, instead, continued to watch as the clouds slowly started to swirl around the spot where the arrow had disappeared. Rowen walked up beside her, watching the sky as well. But his presence wasn't noticed until he rested his arm around her shoulders. Robyn blinked and looked at him though Rowen's gaze remained on the sky. He gently pulled her closer and Robyn allowed herself to lean against him. For a moment, she had to borrow his strength for she had none of her own for which to stand. The two stood there quietly together for several minutes.

"So," Rowen then announced as he finally looked down at her. "Ready to go back to the university and find out how many people's butts I've whooped?"

She smiled at him. "Sounds like a plan to me." They started walking back to the roof exit together.

"So when are you guys going to tell me what happened last night?" Robyn then asked.

Rowen's expression instantly went sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. They had discussed it the night before and none of them really intended on telling her anything.

"Well...it wasn't--I mean....Hey! I'll race you back to the room!"

Robyn put her hands on her hips as Rowen took off into the building. Typical.

"So, Darien's still gone then, huh?" Lita asked her group of friends casually. They, plus several other crowds of students were waiting inside the university for the posting of the test scores.

"Apparently so," Rei replied as she idly gazed at the ceiling.

Next to her Serena was seething.

"Just wait until I get my hands on him," she growled. "How dare he run of and leave me!"

"He left her a message last night," Mina clarified. She, of course knew all the gossip. "He didn't say what he was doing. He just said something came up and that he has to be gone for a few more days."

"If I find out he's cheating on me I'll--" Serena threatened under her breath.

"Humph, I wouldn't blame him if he was," Rei informed her. "You're so possessive it probably drives him nuts!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Calm down Serena," said Ami, the ever present peace maker. "I'm sure Darien has a good reason. It's not like him to just go off like that unless it was something important."

"Hey, maybe it has something to do with what happened last night," Lita offered. "Maybe he's trying to find out what's going on. If that's the case, you know he's going to come back and tell us all about it so we can help."

"Yeah, so don't worry about it, Serena," Mina smiled.

"Yeah, yeah," Serena mumbled.

At the back of the crowd, a group of teenagers fought their way into the building against the raging wind that had mysteriously started up that morning. But no one hardly paid any attention to them, even when the door slammed shut with a loud bang. The wind had been going like that for some time so it was nothing out of the ordinary now to hear the door slam shut every now and then when more students came through it.

"Nice going Mr. Weather Wizard," Robyn grouched as she pulled her wind blown hair out of her face. "Couldn't you have made it blow just a little less softer than this?"

"Hey, what do I look like, an X-Man?" Rowen defended. "I don't control the weather, I just manipulate it the best I can, okay?"

Robyn just huffed and let the subject drop.

"Okay you guys, hurry and see your scores so we can get out of this stupid city," Kento urged.

"I don't think they're up yet," Robyn observed.

Rowen glanced at Sage's watch. "They should be posting them any minute though."

About that moment the students started getting excited and crowded more to the front as a few officials came out and posted copies of all the test scores on the wall.

"Yes, there they are," Rowen said enthusiastically. "Come on Robyn, let's go see what we got." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the crowd. Robyn hardly shared his excitement, but let him drag her along nonetheless.

"They better not take too long," Kento vowed as he folded his arms. "I wanna go home now."

"Kento, we can't just leave," Cye insisted. "Can we? What about those creatures? What if they attack again? We're just going to turn our backs and forget about it?"

"What else are we supposed to do?" Sage put in. "We've already spent an extra night here. I've got to be home today or my parents are grounding me for sure."

Kento nodded.

"I wish I had been there," Ryo said without thinking. "I wish I would have seen it, too. Maybe I could have helped you guys figure out what they were after. If we knew why they were here we could come up with some sort of plan about what to do next."

"Look," Sage insisted. "Either way we have to go back to Toyama after this. From then on we'll just have to keep an eye on the news and on the city. Whatever it is might even follow us back there. We just have to wait until those things show themselves again. We'll figure out what to do after that."

The others agreed.

"This is stupid Rowen," Robyn whined amidst the crowd of eager students. "It's going to take us all day to get up there. Like I care what I got anyway. Let's go home and wait for it in the mail."

"No way, I gotta see it," Rowen insisted. "Stay here and I'll check out both our scores, okay?"

"Whatever," Robyn shrugged as Rowen pushed his way further into the crowd by himself.

"Oh no, it's them!" Rei suddenly gasped. She pointed over to where four of the five Ronins were having some kind of discussion.

"Oh, I hope they don't see us," Mina whined. "I'd be so embarrassed."

The four of them--minus Ami who was looking at her test score--gazed uneasily at the group of boys.

"Hey, who's the guy with the dark hair?" Lita wondered. "He wasn't there last night."

Across the way, Kento noticed them and waved like it was any other thing. Cye quickly grabbed his arm to stop him while the girls all blushed at the attention they were now getting. Ryo turned around to watch them curiously while the other three started talking all at once, trying to explain things to him.

"Well, they don't seem to be mad at us or anything," Serena observed. "Rei, are you sure they're what you say they are? What if they're like us and they're just trying to fight the Nega-trash, too? Maybe you were just having some bad dreams."

"They weren't dreams, Serena!" Rei insisted. "I know what I saw! You saw what they were wearing and those weapons. What do you think they were going to do with those anyway? What if they hurt somebody?"

"Look guys, they're going to be gone in a few hours anyway," Lita rationalized. "Let's just get Ami and go. We can't do anything about it right now."

The other girls reluctantly agreed and moved on out of the site of the ronins.

"Hi again Ami," came a voice from the crowd.

The blue haired girl looked over to see the one person she had been dreading and yet waiting to see all day.

"Hello again Rowen," she smiled a bit uneasily. Rei's words from the night before echoed in her head. He didn't look bad. Was he really what her friend thought he was? He was acting so casual; like nothing had happened the night before. Was this just a trick to catch her off guard? She was so confused.

"So, how do you think you did on that test?" Rowen asked.

Ami blinked as she was brought out of her worrying. "I think I did pretty good. There were some really hard questions though. I'm not sure if I got them right. How about you?"

The tall young man just smiled. "We'll see when we get there."

After a few more minutes of waiting in line, it was finally their turn to check out the score boards. The names were placed by grade instead of in alphabetical order with the highest score at the top and the lowest at the bottom. Ami's eyes immediately started skimming for her last name. She started about the middle in looking--not wanting to give her hopes up too soon. Her gaze traveled up higher and higher until she nearly reached the top. She finally found her name. She had tied with three other people for second place with a ninety-eight percentage.

"Eighty-two," Ami heard Rowen mumble before she could see the highest score.

"Eighty-two percent?" she clarified. "Is that your score? That's not that bad, really."

"No," Rowen frowned. "That's what Robyn got. She didn't even try and she got eighty-two percent! I'm going to kill her."

Ami blinked at the unexpected answer. "So....what did you get then?"

Rowen half heartedly tapped the name at the top of the list and then trudged off into the crowd.

Ami glanced at the name: Rowen Hashiba--100.

She stared at the board in complete surprise. After all she had assumed about him and now this. One word managed to cross her otherwise speechless lips.

"...How?"

"Hey Rowen!" Robyn's face lit up when she saw her friend appear out of the crowd again. She must not have noticed his expression for she ran right up to him. "What'd ya get? What'd ya get?"

Rowen's dark mood was still ignored. "I got first with a hundred percent," he muttered.

Before he could even get the last word out Robyn squealed in delight and jumped at him, hugging him around the neck. Rowen stumbled back a bit when she did that. Because of their height difference, Robyn was now dangling off the ground with Rowen's shoulders supporting all her weight.

"Yay, Rowen! I knew you could do it! You're the best! Congratulations!"

When the excitement wasn't reciprocated, Robyn let go and looked at him curiously.

"What's the matter?"

That's when the bearer of Strata finally jumped to life.

"You got an eighty-two on your test Robyn. An eighty-two! Just think how well you could have done if you actually TRIED! Oh! I'm so mad at you right now!"

"Oh Rowen, don't be like that," Robyn begged. "It's not a big deal, just forget about it." She tugged on his sleeve and gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "Won't you let me be happy for you just this once? Pleeeease?"

Rowen stared her down, he was not caving for that. Robyn gave him a pouty expression before putting her arms around him, leaning her cheek on his arm.

"Oh please," she tried again--this time quoting the phrase the way it was used in the Monty Python movie they both so loved. It was from a favorite scene with the Knights who say "Nee" and they had been using it all the day previous.

That was enough to make Rowen finally crack a smile.

"Oh alright," he relented, earning a smile from Robyn. "I did get first place after all."

"That's right!" she beamed. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him off to rendezvous with the others. "Hey guys, Rowen won! He got first place!"

The other waiting ronins came to life and greeted their friends, congratulating him all at once.

"Way to go Rowen," Kento said louder than the rest. "Let's celebrate by going home."

No one had any problems with that suggestion.

Packing was no problem since only two of the group of six really brought anything. Within no time, they were all outside the hotel and ready to leave. The wind was still blowing fiercely as the group separated to their respective vehicles. Ryo and Kento were going to drive back in Sage's car while Cye and Robyn would be taken home by Rowen. The first group was already inside and Sage started the engine.

"Come on Robyn," Rowen called while she placed her bag in the trunk and shut it. "Get in now and I'll let you have shot gun."

Robyn was about to reply when a familiar feeling sank in her gut. It was the same feeling she got yesterday in the fog right before she met--

"Robyn!" Rowen called again.

She shook herself. "No, that's fine. Let Cye have the front, I don't care."

Rowen looked at Cye who shrugged and both got in. Robyn lingered as she gazed about her cautiously. But finding nothing to confirm her suspicions, she eventually got in as well. Rowen wasted no time in starting the car and following the way Sage had gone. The fog was completely gone by now and Robyn could see the city clearly. The tall buildings raced past her window as they drove for the city limits.

Cye sat quietly as they passed the road sign stating they had now left Tokyo. He looked back at Robyn who kept her gaze out the window. He then turned to Rowen.

"Do you think this city will okay without us?"

Rowen gave him his usual know-it-all look. "It'll be fine."

Inside their usual restaurant, the group of five girls sat around their favorite booth, enjoying ice cream shakes.

"So those guys have probably left by now," Mina said regretfully as she sucked on her straw. "You don't think they'll be coming back, do you?"

"I hope not," Rei huffed. "Good riddance to them all."

"What are you, some kind of man hater?" Mina shot back. "They were so cute! How could you not want to see them again?"

"How can you say that?! They're evil! They are the enemy!"

"How do you know Rei?" Lita jumped in. "Just because you happened to see something in a vision, doesn't necessarily mean it's true. And what if you interpreted it wrong as well?"

Rei furrowed her brows, taking into consideration what her friend just told her. But that vission was so clear. She could still remember it all. All the blood and the chaos and the evil. How could she ever misinterpret that?

"What about that girl Robyn?" Serena spoke up next. "Do you think she knows about them? If Rei is right then she could be in danger."

"And what are we supposed to do about it?" Lita ventured. "We can't just take off and follow them around. They don't even live in this city."

Everyone fell quiet as they mulled the situation over.

"Ami, you haven't said anything. Do you have any ideas?" Mina asked.

The blue haired girl had been staring hard at her ice cream during the whole conversation. Her brows were creased from deep thought. She must have been thinking hard about something and the others were all ears to hear what she was about to say as she raised her head.

"Well?" Rei urged.

Ami took a deep breath. "How did he beat me!?" she exclaimed.

Now realizing they were in two totally different worlds, the others sweat dropped.

"This wind isn't normal," Michelle stated quietly. She and Amara were standing on the roof of a sky scraper in their normal clothes. They weren't alone. Several other people were there at the observatory as well to take in the site of the city from so high above. The wind still blew up here. But it wasn't nearly as strong as it had been earlier that day.

"I know what you mean," Amara replied. Her back was to the city as she leaned against the rail.

Michelle pulled some wind blown strands of hair out of her face. "It feels almost like it's been tampered with. But why?"

"Maybe someone got tired of that choking fog," Amara joked dryly.

"Maybe," Michelle shot back. "But I don't think it's gone."

"What do you mean by that?" Amara turned around so they were now both gazing down at the city.

"The wind didn't get rid of it, it's just not here any more. It's moving and it's anyone's guess as to where it's headed."

"Then we have to follow it," Amara announced. "Where ever it's headed we have to be there."

"I know. But what about Sailor Moon and the others? Why don't we tell them about it? They could help us if--"

"No!" Amara shot back. "They don't need to know. We don't need to risk their lives for this."

"That's not why you don't want them involved and you know it," Michelle responded lowly. "You're afraid to think we can't handle this by ourselves and that we might need their help."

Amara just sighed. She wasn't going to argue it. "Either way, we're still not doing them any favors by getting them into this Michelle. They still have their regular lives to get through. Now isn't the best time to drag them off into danger. But if we do need their help we'll contact them, okay?"

"Okay," the green haired woman relented. "Come on Amara, let's go."


	6. Chapter Six: Switching Cities

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Six: Switching Cities

"Guess who?" a light, feminine voice sang.

Robyn stopped walking as a small pair of hands covered her eyes from behind.

"Hmm, let's see," Robyn wondered, dragging out the answer even though she knew very well who it was. "Who do I know that always has cold hands? Well, unless Sage recently had a sex change, I can't say it would be him so it must be Kami."

The dark haired girl removed her hands and laughed. "How did you ever guess it was me?" Kami asked, playing out the joke.

"I don't know. I mean, I know soooo many people. It was just a lucky guess."

Kami laughed some more as they proceeded together outside to the lunch tables.

"Are you going to eat with us today?" Robyn then asked.

"Might as well," Kami conceded.

She had actually been eating with them quite regularly for a while. Ever since Ryo had taken Kami to the prom they had gotten closer and become better friends. And, as Robyn joked once, you can't have one without having all five. In all actuality, there was more truth to the chiding than fiction. They were a package deal and one just had to live with it. Robyn did.

The two girls sat down at the table Cye, Kento, Ryo, and Sage were already occupying. Kami smiled at them while Robyn voiced her greetings before digging through her usual lunch bag. Cye wasn't paying much attention to the two girls' arrival at first. Not until he was about to take a bite out of his sandwich, then something about Robyn caught his attention. He paused with his sandwich halfway to his mouth and stared at her.

"Robyn," he called.

"Yes," Robyn replied in kind of a kindergarten teacher tone, not even bothering to look up.

"Where did you get that shirt?"

She never skipped a beat and there wasn't a hint of guilt in her voice. "From your closet."

"Did I say you could borrow it?"

"Nope."

"Then why did you take it?"

"Because I wanted to wear it."

"Robyn!" Cye whined, frustrated that this conversation was getting him nowhere. "I don't want you wearing my clothes!"

The young redhead finally looked up at him. "What are you going to do Cye? Are you going to come and take it off me?"

Cye jerked back in his seat and his face paled at the notion. Kento chuckled at him while he entertained an amusing mental picture in his head.

"Oh, did you see that?" Kami joined in, referring to Cye's response. "He acts like that because he really wants to do it."

Robyn turned to her friend wide eyed. "What was that?"

"You heard me," Kami shot back. "They say it's always the quiet ones who have like all these bizarre sexual fantasies or something. Maybe you're in them."

Robyn gazed at her now ex-friend. Her expression showed that she was not amused. Across from them, poor Cye was mortified and on the verge of having a severe nose bleed.

"Oh yeah?" Robyn countered. "So doesn't that put you into the same category?"

Kami huffed at the insinuation. "Hey, I don't think about those sort of things. I'm a good girl, okay?"

"Not from the things I hear you say about you-know-who," Robyn whispered.

Kami's gaze shot over to Ryo and her face flushed instantly. Fortunately for her, he was engaged in a conversation with Sage and didn't notice. Kami glared at her female companion.

"I hate you."

Next to Cye, Kento shook his head. "And here I thought you were always such a nice girl, Kami."

"She got corrupted by hanging around Robyn too much," Rowen announced as he approached the table and sat next to the said bad influence. He hadn't caught the whole conversation, but he had a feeling that statement was given with perfect timing.

"Oh yeah, right. I'm the bad one," Robyn said in an accusing tone.

Rowen shrugged and turned his attention to the soda can in his hand.

"Man, it's getting hot, isn't it?" he announced. "I'm so thirsty." He popped the lid and started taking huge gulps.

This was about the time Kami came up with her coup de graze.

"So Robyn, how did you know Sage has cold hands anyway?"

That question didn't so much affect Robyn as it did the person sitting next to her. Rowen suddenly choked at the mental picture that forced its way into his thoughts from the question. He immediately spat out the liquid before it had a chance to go down the wrong tube. Even Ryo and Sage were paying attention now. Cye looked mad; especially since he had just been splattered with Rowen's backwash. Everyone was staring at him now as if waiting for the judge to proclaim his sentence.

"Rowen, you idiot!" Cye protested. "You ruined my shirt!"

Once again, Robyn never skipped a beat. "Not this one," she beamed, tugging at her own shirt collar.

Several of the table's occupants were choking back their laugher as Cye stormed off to the bathroom to clean up.

Robyn looked up at the wall of the public library to check the time. She had ten, maybe fifteen minutes until Kento was coming to pick her up. Letting out a deep breath, she blew some of her bangs momentarily from her face. She was sick of studying for those stupid finals coming up and was ready to leave now. She glared up at the slow ticking clock.

Oh well, back to physics.

She lifted her school book and went back to skimming through the highlighted parts. Minutes later, she managed to notice that someone had taken the seat next to her. Robyn didn't think too much of it at first. With graduation coming up fast, the library was full of students scrambling to finish term papers and the like. She was no different.

"Wow, looks like you've got quite a work load there."

Robyn looked up from her formulas to the person who had addressed her. He had to be older than she was, a college student probably. He was quite possibly even taller than Rowen with thick raven hair that was short cut in the back and fell over his clear blue eyes. In short, he was gorgeous. Robyn blinked dumbly at his smiling face and then looked around to make sure it was her he was addressing.

"Are you studying for finals?" the handsome young man then asked.

Robyn quickly shook herself. "Uh, yeah, kind of. I've been working on this history paper and now I'm brushing up on physics." She said the last word with an odd accent so it sounded more like "physiques" than "physics". She and Rowen always called it that.

The blue eyed stranger just smiled at her.

"What about yourself?" Robyn asked, noting the books he had as well. "Do you go the college extension here?"

"No, I'm not from this city. I'm just visiting some relatives here. But that doesn't mean I don't have to prepare for my own final exams."

"Cool," Robyn nodded, not being able to think of anything more intelligent to say.

"By the way, I'm Darien," the older student held out his hand.

"Robyn," she replied, taking it. She was about to make further conversation when the silent lull of the library atmosphere was shattered by the noise of an unmuffled engine as it approached.

"What on earth was that?" Darien wondered as the engine died down like a squealing pig as it got butchered.

Robyn sighed. "That's my ride," she said as she started to pack up all her study equipment. She set about filing her notes from her research paper into her notebook and then into her back pack it went. Next, her school books were put away.

"Hey Robyn, I'm here," Kento called as he swaggered up to her. "Grab your stuff and let's go eat."

"Sure thing Kento. But first, I'd like you to meet--" Robyn turned around only to find the chair next to her now vacant.

"Huh? Meet who?" Kento wanted to know.

Robyn blinked in confusion. "He's gone."

"There they are!" Rowen announced as Kento stepped into his own living room. The rest of his team were already making themselves at home when he and Robyn arrived. Not that he was surprised. The Rei Faun house was practically a second home to all of them.

"Did you get your paper done, Robyn?" Ryo asked as he raced his car on the tv screen. Sage was his opponent and, of course, was winning. Funny, racing games were the only type the bearer of Halo would play without constant prodding.

"Yeah, it's pretty much finished, thank goodness," Robyn replied as she plopped between Rowen and Cye on the couch. "Now all I have to worry about are those math and physics tests."

"Woa, you need to slow down," Rowen told her. "It's only Thursday. We've still got another week. You don't need to do it all right now.

"First of all, the finals are next Tuesday and Wednesday. And unlike you, Mr. Photographic-Memory, the rest of us actually have to study to get good grades."

"Hey, I study, too! I just don't do it obsessively like some. It's not even the weekend yet!"

"Yes, but I'll get all my work done now and then I'll have my whole weekend free."

"Hey, that's actually a pretty good idea," Kento said from the recliner he was sitting in.

"Too bad the rest of us are such horrible procrastinators," Sage admitted.

"Even you, too Sage?" Robyn grinned, not being able to picture such a short coming to fit with such a thought to be perfect individual. Sage just nodded.

"Well then, it looks like I'll be off having fun this weekend while all you guys are stuck inside studying. So there." Robyn finished her sentence by sticking her tongue out at Rowen.

"Well aren't we huffy today," the bearer of Strata shot back. "See? All that studying has made you cranky."

"I doubt it," Kento suddenly put in. "She's still doting over that mysterious invisible man she met at the library."

"Who?" Cye asked. This conversation now had his full attention.

"For the last time, he was really there!" Robyn yelled at him. "And he was super cute, too!"

"Robyn, did you find another boyfriend?" Chun Fa, Kento's little sister suddenly popped into the room.

"I wish," Robyn said ruefully. "But your big, noisy brother had to scare him away."

"HEY!"

Chun Fa ignored her oldest brother's out burst. "Was he even cuter than Cye?"

Robyn didn't even need to think twice about that. "Oh yeah," she said, a dreamy look in her eyes as she remembered him. "I was about to ask him if he had any over due library books because he had "fine" written all over him."

Cye had an unreadable look on his face while any expression Rowen was making was covered up by one hand. Chun Fa just stared with wide eyes. Anyone being cuter than Cye was almost uncomprehendable to her.

It was after dark when Kento's guests started for home. Cye and Robyn, as usual, were the last ones out the door with Chun Fa hugging Cye's leg as long as she could. But they eventually made it out of the house and to the street and were now heading for the subway.

As they were strolling down the sidewalks, Robyn suddenly stopped in mid stride as that horribly familiar feeling hit her again. It had been almost a week since they got back from Tokyo. She didn't expect to have any experience like that here. But there it was again. Cye stopped and looked at her curiously as she gazed around the city streets.

"What is it?" he asked.

Robyn shook her head and hurried to catch up. "I.... thought I heard a weird noise, but it was nothing. Come on before we miss the 7:30."

Across the street a tall figure leaned against the side of a building in an alleyway. He gazed up at the over cast sky. No stars could be seen. The sky had been covered by thick clouds for two days now. That wasn't natural weather. He had been sensing a strange energy ever since he got here and it seemed to be the heaviest on this side of town.

Clear blue eyes silently watched the two teens as they left. He was surprised to notice the girl had sensed something as well. Though he still wasn't sure what it was. Robyn she said her name was. That's all he had to go on for now. Darien shook his head to move the thick hair out of his eyes. There was a connection to this dark essence somewhere around here and he had a feeling no one would be safe until someone got rid of it.

"WAAAH! I can't do this!" Serena cried as she let her face drop in her open math book. She and her friends were all stationed around the small table at Rei's place where they usually got together to study.

"Of course you can, Serena," Ami consoled. "It's really easy once you know how to do it. See? You just take the reciprocal of the first fraction and then--"

"No!" Serena jumped back to life. "No no no! I'm so sick of studying my head is going to explode!"

"We have been at this for a while," Lita admitted. "Maybe we should take a break for a few minutes."

"How about a few days?" Serena argued. "We don't have finals for another two weeks so why bother?"

"With your grades?" Rei retorted. "You'll be lucky to get by with this much of a head start. Remember Serena, you're not going to get into a good college--or any college at all if you can't even pass high school."

Serena whimpered and went back to reading her book at point blank range while the others sighed. That was about the time the phone rang and Rei got up to answer it.

"Well, at least we can take a break now," Mina said as she flopped over backwards to lay on the floor. "I hate to admit it, but I gotta agree with Serena. It's time to do something else for a while."

The others nodded.

"Okay, when Rei gets off the phone we'll go out and get ice cream or something," Lita suggested.

"Hey Serena," Rei called from the door way with the phone still in her hand. "It's for you. It's--"

"DARIEN!?" Serena screamed as she jumped to her feet. "Is it Darien?" She scrambled over the table, messing up everyone's papers and earning a few colorful insults for it. But Serena cared not as she raced for her dark haired friend. Rei calmly held out the phone before it was snatched from her.

"Darien, is that you??"

"Boy, I can just imagine the tongue lashing he's going to get," Mina commented before they all went quiet to listen to the conversation.

"DARIEN! WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN!? HOW DARE YOU NOT COME HOME OR AT LEAST CALL EVERY DAY!? YOU TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW OR I'LL-- huh?"

She paused and blinked as the voice on the other end started talking. All ears in the other room were listening intently.

"You want us to meet you where? Toyama? What the heck is in Toyama?"

"Hey, isn't that where those guys were from?" Lita asked.

Ami nodded silently.

"And how to do you suppose we get there? What do we tell our parents?" Serena then sighed. "Fine, we'll do what we can. Love you, too." She mumbled the last part before heavily hanging up the phone and trudging back into the other room.

She had everyone's undivided attention as she plopped down in her usual seat. "Well gang, it looks like we're going on a road trip this weekend. Any ideas how we're going to pull that off?"

"Well, we did it," Rei announced that Friday afternoon. "I don't know how, but we did it."

"Yes, lucky for us Lita has an aunt that lives in Toyama," Ami said as she gazed out the window at the new city.

"Though if my parents found out she's not in town at the moment, they're going to have a cow," Mina worried as she looked around the apartment.

"No time to worry about that now Mina," said the white cat as he poked his head out of her travel bag. "First thing's first."

"Yes, I agree with Artemis," said Luna as she perched on the window sill. "We need to meet Darien as soon as possible and get to the bottom of this."

"Who's idea was it to bring those killjoy furballs anyway?" Rei whispered to Mina who shrugged. They usually just took it upon themselves to come anywhere the group went. Like they couldn't handle things on their own or something.

"So exactly how are we going to meet up with Darien?" Lita asked. "Did he give us a place to meet him at Serena?"

Serena suddenly froze and sweat dropped. "Well, not exactly. I guess I forgot to ask him that."

The group all fell over in the usual anime style.

"Great! Now what do we do?" Rei grouched. "We don't know where he is and he doesn't know how to contact us now."

"Well, we can always just go wander around town, scope out the city, and see what we can find," Mina offered. "We'll have the best luck if we go to a place with lots of people--like the mall!"

"Yeah," Lita agreed. "I've always wanted to check out the stores they have--I mean, it's a good place to start looking."

"I suppose," Ami relented. "We could stop there first. Who knows what we'll find."

"Darien could be there," Serena insisted. "After all, the bond of love that holds us together will help us find each other where ever we are. Plus I'm hungry."

"And if we happen to stumble on a few cute boys on the way, that's just a bonus for us!" Mina piped in happily.

The two talking cats merely watched on as the group of girls ran merrily out the door, powerless to do anything but watch them go. The door slammed shut and the feline duo sweat dropped.

"They're hopeless," Artemis relented as he shook his head.

"Completely and utterly hopeless," Luna agreed.

Robyn was at home, sitting at the table next to Kento who was busy with his school work. But she didn't seem to notice or care what he was trying to do as she just kept staring and smiling at him.

"Ask me again, Kento," she finally said.

"No. Go away, I'm trying to do this," the bearer of Hardrock said distractedly as he jotted down a few notes.

"Oh come on, one more time," Robyn pleaded.

"Leave me alone, Robyn."

"Ask me Kento, come on. Please?"

Kento had a slightly miffed expression on his face as he raised it to look at her. "If I do it will you let me work?"

Robyn smiled and nodded vigorously. Kento breathed out heavily.

"Okay. Robyn, is your history paper finished?"

The young girl beamed so bright one would have thought he just asked her if she'd like a million dollars.

"Yes! Yes it is," she said happily. "It's all finished. Ah, it feels so good to say that." She smiled around the table at Kento, Cye, and Ryo. "Too bad you guys can't say the same thing, can you?"

Kento glared at her bragging before going back to work. Ryo looked tolerant while he played with the yo-yo Robyn bought from her trip to Tokyo. He and Kento were always passing it back and forth now. Cye was less than amused as he tapped his pencil on the table impatiently.

"So is Sage coming over?" Ryo suddenly asked. "He's got this history paper due, too."

"Nah, he over at Rowen's," Kento replied. "That guy's the only one who can stand the brainiac during finals. They're working on all their homework over there."

"Well, I think I'm going to go have some fun then," Robyn announced happily as she stood up. "Too bad you guys all procrastinated so now you have to say inside on this beautiful, warm day."

Kento breathed out of his nose loudly as he clutched his pencil. "Robyn, you are really starting to--"

He was cut off as Robyn hugged him around the neck from behind. "I promise I'll bring you back something, kay?" she said as she affectionately ruffled his hair.

Next she moved to Ryo and hugged him in the same fashion. "Bye Ryo! Bye Cye!" She hugged Cye next before kissing his cheek and then bouncing merrily out the door. The three ronins dumbly watched her go.

"Man, it's hard to stay mad when she's so happy, isn't it?" Ryo observed.

Kento had a perplexed look on his face, but nodded.

Robyn trudged through the noisy mall, now in a less than bouncy mood. Kami couldn't go hang around with her because she was home working on term papers as well. Robyn didn't realize how small her list of friends was until they were all suddenly stuck at home. She didn't really know anyone else. Maybe that was why everyone always put off things together. At least if they were studying, they weren't studying alone.

The mall had its typical weekend crowd, but it felt empty to Robyn. She was entertaining the idea of going back home just so she could have someone to be with when she heard a voice call her name. She stopped in her tracks and listened for it again.

"Hey Robyn, over here!"

She looked around and saw a girl with long, blonde pony tails come up to her.

"Hi again!" The girl grinned as several more girls came up behind her. "Remember us?"

Robyn looked them all over skeptically.

"Um, yeah. Yeah I do. What are you guys doing in Toyama?"

"Oh, we just came to visit my aunt," Lita explained.

"Even though she's not home," Mina piped up.

Rei immediately silenced her.

"So, you here with anybody?" Serena asked as she eyed the crowd.

Robyn smiled, she could guess what they were looking for. "Nope. I'm here by myself."

She got mixed expressions from the girls with that answer. It seemed she had caught them off guard because they were now looking at each other, wondering what to do next.

"Hey, you want to hang out with us for a little while?" Mina offered.

"Yeah," Lita agreed. "We're not really doing much, but you're welcome to join us."

Robyn looked around at four hopeful faces and one skeptical one. She had never met the dark haired girl that was with them, but she figured all she would have to do is say yes and she would find out soon enough.

"Sure, okay," Robyn shrugged. "Got nothing else better to do."

"Yay," Mina cheered. "Come on then, I heard there was a great sale going up this way. Let's go!"

She eagerly grabbed Robyn's arm. The red haired girl had a sparse moment to wonder what she had gotten herself into before she was dragged off through the crowd.

"Are you sure we should let her hang around with us?" Rei whispered to Lita as they followed.

The taller girl shrugged. "We do need to find out just how much she knows and what her relationship is with these guys. If she's a victim, Rei, we need to protect her."

That answer satisfied the fire senshi enough for the moment and she kept any further doubts and suspicions to herself.

"Do you guys mind refreshing me on your names again?" Robyn asked as she pretty much just followed the other girls around while they looked at clothes.

"What? You don't remember them?" Serena asked absently as she admired a blouse while sucking on an ice cream bar.

"Not really," Robyn admitted. "I remember Ami, but you three all sounded the same. It was like Lina, Mita...then something with an S..."

"Close," Mina laughed. "I'm Mina, that's Lita, and then Serena."

"And this is Rei," Lita introduced. "I don't think you met her."

"No, I didn't. Hi Rei," Robyn smiled.

The dark haired girl gave a tight smile before returning to her browsing.

"Just ignore her," Serena whispered. "Rei's always been the cranky one."

"I heard that Serena!"

Robyn laughed. "I'm sorry guys, I've always been bad with names. You should have seen me when I first met Rowen. I couldn't remember his name for like a week. I had to write it down on my hand to get it right. It was pretty sad."

"How long have you known Rowen and the others?" Lita probed, trying to sound casual.

"Only since the beginning of the school year. Except for Cye. He and I have been friends since we were little kids."

Mina turned around from where she was trying on sunglasses. "Cye was the one...."

"With the sandy hair and green eyes," Robyn clarified. "He talks with kind of an English accent."

"Oh yeah, I remember him," Mina beamed. "He was cute!"

She was immediately rewarded with a warning nudge from Rei. But all Mina did was stick out her tongue.

"So why aren't you hanging out with them today?" Serena wondered. "Are they all out with their girlfriends or something?"

Robyn smirked. "No. They're all free for the taking if that's what you're wondering. Most of them are over at my place right now working on their term papers. I'm the only one who got on the ball and finished it before the weekend and that's why I was stuck cruising the mall alone."

"If they're all at your place, shouldn't you be there, too?" Ami asked.

"Nah. I live with Cye, it's really his place."

She paused when the other girls started looking at her funny. "No, not like that! I just sleep there--not in the same bed or anything! Wait, hold on. See, I'm staying with Cye and his mother. Like renting a room there. They're like family to me."

The girls finally nodded in understanding. That was about the time Robyn decided to keep her mouth shut about anything else concerning the guys.

Later that evening found the group of girls in the food court. Robyn was the only one who didn't have shopping bags scattered around her. But that suited Robyn just fine. She hadn't gone there to shop. Plus she was having a fun time just hanging out with these strange girls. Sometimes they kind of reminded her of the guys the way they acted around each other. But they were also different in so many wonderful ways.

"This was really fun hanging out with you today. I've been spending time with the guys so much I've almost forgotten what it's like to do things with other girls," Robyn admitted. "Thanks for letting me tag along."

"Hey, no problem," Serena grinned. "It was fun having you. Even if you didn't buy anything."

Robyn shrugged. "I didn't really bring that much money."

"Hey, you should come stay with us at my aunt's place tonight," Lita announced. "It'll be fun. An all girls night."

Robyn instantly looked hesitant at the proposition. "I dunno if I should. And I really ought to be heading home soon."

But Lita was not going to be turned down so easily. "Well here then," she said as she scribbled something on a piece of paper. "In case you change your mind you can call at this phone number. Or just come right over to this address whenever you're ready, okay?"

Robyn bit her lip but stuffed the paper in her pocket nonetheless.

"Do you mind me asking about something before you go?" Ami wondered

"Not really. Go ahead," Robyn said. Ami had been quiet the whole day. Robyn was quite curious to find out what was on her mind.

"About...your friend Rowen," Ami went on a bit hesitantly. "Does he....study a lot? Like all the time?"

Robyn shrugged. "I dunno. He does when there's tests and stuff like everyone else I guess. Maybe he does when he's home by himself. But I don't know how much that is because he sure seems to be around bothering me all the time." She paused and looked at Ami's troubled expression. "You're wondering how a goof like that got the highest on that test last week, aren't you?"

Ami bit her lip and nodded. She was aware how petty she was sounding at the moment, but she had to know.

"That's just the way he is," Robyn told her. "Rowen's got like this photographic memory. He remembers practically everything. Plus, I don't know what it is about him exactly, he just likes to learn. It's like he's hungry for knowledge all the time. If there's anything new to learn he jumps right on top of it. He enjoys it. That's why he's so good at it."

The blue haired girl blinked a bit and then nodded in defeat. Robyn took this time to get up from the table.

"Well, I guess I'll be going now. See you guys later maybe."

The other girls called their good-bye's as she walked off.

"Remember," Lita reminded. "Feel free to come over tonight anytime."

But the invitation was momentarily forgotten as Robyn reached home and stepped inside. She paused in the foyer and listened to the unexpected stillness of the house. It felt empty. In the kitchen, books and papers were still scattered around the table but those responsible for the mess were nowhere to be seen. Robyn set down the large box she was carrying and scratched her head. She wandered around a bit and found Cye's mother in the pottery room working on her favorite hobby.

"Anything you're wanting?" Mrs. Mouri asked as Robyn curiously poked her head in.

"Where is everyone?" Robyn wondered.

"The boys went out for a break. They should be back in a little while."

"Okay, thanks."

Retreating back into the rest of the house, Robyn finally decided to go up to her room and do a bit of studying on her own. Sitting cross legged on her bed, Robyn pulled out her sloppy history notes and attempted to go through them. This was the hardest subject for her--considering she had been studying American history instead of Japanese for the last several years. Cye was always suckered into helping her study throughout the year and it probably drove him crazy. But for now she had to go through all the names, dates, and places on her own.

For quite a while, Robyn stayed engrossed with her notes. She finally looked up when her squeaky door slid open a bit. She blinked at the empty doorway, expecting someone to be there. But the house was still quiet and no one seemed to be around. Robyn listened quietly for a few seconds more before returning to her studies. Because of this, she failed to notice she was being watched as a figure crept silently into her bedroom.

"BOO!"

"WAHHHH!"

Robyn screamed. She was so startled she fell right off the bed and hit the floor with a heavy thunk. He legs were still propped up on the bed as she saw a smiling face peeking over the side.

"ROWEN!!"

"Scared you!" he gloated.

Robyn glowered from her place on the floor while another blue haired head poked over the edge to look down at her.

"Hey, are those doughnuts in the kitchen for us?"

The red haired girl sighed. "Yeah Kento, you guys can have them. All except for you Rowen! You don't get any!"

"Yeah, whatever," Rowen said as he offered her a hand. Like he believed any of her threats.

Robyn gave him a half smirk, but then took the offered hand and let Rowen pull her up. He hefted her back up to the bed and Robyn immediately started gathering all her fallen papers. She noticed with a half frown Ryo and Cye in the doorway of her bedroom. Sage peeked out from behind them, peering curiously into the "forbidden territory" of the girl's bedroom. He was brought up better than to go inside--especially with her in there. Kento and Rowen, of course, didn't have such qualms and went in whenever they felt like it.

"Let me guess, a sleep over?" Robyn asked, her voice lacking in any enthusiasm.

"You bet," Kento beamed.

"Guess which movie I rented," Rowen announced proudly. "Tonight we're watching "Strange Brew", eh? Sage hasn't seen it yet."

Robyn had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. As much as she liked the silly Canadian show, the arrangements left something to be desired.

"Well sorry, I'm not going to be watching it with you," Robyn announced as she stood. "Because I've been invited to a sleep over of my own tonight."

"Oh? Are you going over to Kami's?" Cye asked.

"No," Robyn insisted. "She's not the only friend I have you know."

Rowen scratched his head. "She's not?"

"NO! My whole world doesn't just evolve around you guys you know. Sheesh!" And with that, Robyn marched out of the room. The three remaining teens scrambled to get out of her way.

"Hoser," Rowen called after her with a grin.

"Take off!" was the immediate reply before Robyn poked her head back in the doorway. "And get the heck out of my room!"

The two didn't look like they were going to move any time soon at the sake of merely annoying their female friend. That is, until Cye's mother called up, wondering what was going on upstairs. Then everyone vacated any place near Robyn's room quick as lightning.

Several minutes later, Robyn was in the kitchen with a fully packed travel bag in her hand. Five curious pairs of ears were listening in the other room as Robyn conferred with Cye's mother.

"I'll be at this address and you can reach me at this phone number if you need to get a hold of me for anything," Robyn said as she copied the information to another piece of paper. She added quietly as she put the paper in Mrs. Mouri's hand "And can we not hand this information out to certain parties tonight?"

Cye's mother smiled and nodded in understanding. "Go and have a good time."

"I will," Robyn nodded. i I guess.... /i

She picked up her bag and prepared herself to go through the short but no doubtably difficult stretch to the front door. And right in the kitchen doorway was her first obstacle.

"Where are you going?" Cye wanted to know.

"A friend's house," Robyn said as she brushed past him. "That's all I need to tell you. Your mom already knows where I'm going and she's the only one who has to know. So ta ta!"

"Hey, you wanna take the movie with you?" Rowen offered pleasantly from the couch.

"I've already like twenty billion times. Let Sage watch it."

"Fine. I wasn't going to give it to you anyway," the bearer of Strata huffed.

Robyn clenched her teeth. She was almost there--almost to freedom. Her hand reached for the door, but was stopped as one more person got in her way.

"Do you want one of us to walk you there?" Ryo asked.

He wasn't so much standing in her way, but the sincerity in his voice was enough to cause her to stop. She looked up into his genuinely concerned and friendly face and some of her hostility left her.

"Nah, I'm good," she smiled. "Later all!" And with that, she was out the door.

Robyn almost missed her stop on the subway, but managed to find the right place. The look of surprise on Lita's face when she opened the door was almost enough to make her want to turn back around and head for home.

"Sorry I didn't call," Robyn quickly apologized. "It was kind of a last minute decision. I hope that's okay. I don't want to be rude."

The tall brunette quickly gathered herself again. "Oh, no problem. I'm glad you came. Please, come in."

Robyn nodded and humbly stepped inside. The other girls were sitting on the floor in the main room and looked equally surprised to see her.

"Look who decided to come over you guys," Lita announced pleasantly.

It took a few blinks and a bit of blank staring before the group jumped to action.

"Hi!" Mina crowed. "Glad you could make it."

"Yeah, and I hope you're hungry," Serena chimed in. "We just ordered some pizza!"

Robyn only smiled a bit uneasily as Lita showed her where she could put her things. By the time she was finished with that, the girls had lost interest in her and were back to staring at the papers and books gathered around them.

"You guys have finals, too?" Robyn asked with a small smile. She passively sat herself slightly between Mina and Amy.

"Who doesn't?" Rei wanted to know without even looking up from her text book.

"But now that you're here, we can all take a break!" Serena cheered.

Robyn smiled a bit more as the girls all showed a little gratitude for her presence giving them an excuse to quit their studies. She was about to comment again when something soft brushed by her arm. She looked down to see a white furred creature with large, bright eyes gazing up at her.

"Oh, a kitty!" she shrieked happily, gathering everyone's attention in the process. "Hey boy, how are you doing?" she cooed as she swept the white cat up in her arms and started scratching his chin. "Oh, you are a handsome young man, you are. And who do you belong to?"

"He's mine," Mina admitted. "His name's Artemis."

"Artemis, huh?" Robyn asked the feline. "It fits you, yes it does." She continued to baby talk and pet the magical cat who seemed to have no objections at the time.

With her curiosity peaked, Luna strolled up to the pair and gave a questioning meow since she would never reveal their secret that they could actually talk to outsiders. Artemis didn't respond, so she called again. Upon further investigation, she discovered her feline companion had long since melted into a furry puddle under the girl's ministrations. He looked up at Luna with almost a drunken expression before his eyes rolled back in their sockets and he slipped into a state of complete bliss, purring stupidly away as he was at it.

Luna huffed at his silly behavior and stalked off. Robyn managed to stroke her once before she left. Serena could be heard explaining her name and that Luna was her cat. But at this point, she cared not what was said about her as she skipped off to perch on the window sill and give the kind of look only cats can give to the rest of the world.

"She's a bit moody sometimes," Mina whispered to Robyn who giggled.

"Man, I wish I had a kitty," Robyn lamented as she continued to stroke Artemis' snow white fur. "I'm so deprived."

"Why don't you get one?" Ami asked.

"I can't," Robyn frowned. "Cye won't let me. He hates cats. And it's his house so there's not much I can do about it."

Artemis rolled over to have his tummy scratched and Robyn was happy to do it.

"So, why did you decide to come over Robyn," Lita wondered. "If you don't mind me asking."

Robyn shrugged. "Cye had all the guys over for the night. I didn't want to stick around."

"You don't like them much?" Amy probed.

"No, I do. They're all my friends. But five guys, one girl--I'm kinda out numbered, you know? I see them so much during the day and then to have them all come over for the night. It can just be a bit overwhelming to deal with all five of them at once, I guess."

Some nodded while others just looked away. It was hard to understand since the rest of them had to admit they never had Robyn's problem before.

"I wish I had five boys coming at me at once," Mina suddenly thought out loud.

Robyn looked at her and then suddenly cracked up, momentarily startling the cat in her lap. Some of the other girls giggled in the humor of the moment.

"What's so funny?" Mina wanted to know, though she was smiling big herself.

Robyn wiped a tear from her eye. "Sorry girl, as much as I hate them, I still love them. They're my friends and I'm not giving them up to anybody."

Going back to petting Artemis, she didn't notice the different looks she was getting from that statement. Rei gave her the most perplexed look of all. This poor girl didn't have a clue what kind of people her so called friends really were. Lita was right; she was a victim.

Any further conversation on that subject or any other was cut off as the pizza guy appeared on their doorstep. Thus resulting in the group moving into the kitchen to perch around the counter and enjoy the piping hot mozzarella and tomato sauce. Sharing food always seemed to bring a sense of comradere to a group and soon Robyn was laughing along with the rest of the girls like she had known them all her life.

"And then Serena's boyfriend comes in and she looks up and she's got cake all over her face!" Mina recalled, barely being able to control her laughter.

"Hey, I remember that," Rei recalled. "You were such a pig that day Serena. But then again, you're a pig everyday."

"That's mean Rei!" Serena whined.

"Hey Rei," Lita announced. And when the dark haired girl turned her head, Lita wiped a finger full of pizza sauce on her face.

"Ew! Gross!" Rei took her turn to whine as she wiped it off on her sleeve. Then, of course, she instantly set about getting her revenge. Lita hid behind Robyn to avoid being painted on and soon a mini war with all sorts of interesting toppings waged in the small kitchen.

"I'll get it!" Lita called when the phone rang. She managed to slip away from the fighting, laughing group and answered the ringing appliance.

"Robyn, it's for you," she announced a few moments later.

The red haired girl gave her a look as if she just asked her if she wanted another head.

"Who could be calling for me?" Robyn wondered. "Cye's mom is the only one I gave this number to unless.....wait. Is it a man or a woman on the phone?"

Lita dangled the receiver in one hand as she placed the other on her hip. "It's a guy," she insisted.

The look on Robyn's face was not pleased when she got up to answer it. Lita handed the phone off to her and she took it and wandered into the next room. In the kitchen, the girls stayed quiet to hear the one sided conversation.

"Listen Rowen," Robyn grouched into the phone the second she put it to her ear. "I'm not interested in your stupid movie so why don't you leave me the he---Huh? Oh, it's you, Ryo. Sorry. Why are you calling? What?"

Robyn moved further into the room and lowered her voice as the bearer of Wildfire relayed his reasons to her.

"Worried about me? Why?"

The girls in the kitchen had, by now, snuck up to the door frame and were straining to hear what she was saying.

"You guys think I'm in trouble, huh? Riiight. And who thought this up? Kento? And now Cye believes it, too? Well of course he would believe it! Anything like that he would--Look. I'm fine, alright? I don't need you guys holding my hand every second of the day. Go watch your movie and don't worry about it. Hey, I heard that! Tell Rowen he's one, too! Yes, yes, I'm sure. I'm hanging up now Ryo. I'll be fine, I'm sure. Bye."

Robyn breathed out heavily as the conversation ended. But the second she returned the phone to its cradle was the second all hell broke loose.


	7. Chapter Seven: Drive

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter 7: Drive

There was a sickening sound of glass shattering as the window next to Robyn exploded. A large figure landed in the room as broken shards rained all around the young girl. Before she could react, the figure rushed her and knocked her hard into the wall. Her skull ricocheted off the hard plaster and her small body crumpled to the floor. Robyn struggled to stay conscious, but she was slipping fast. Just before her eyes closed for good, she beheld another figure in the room. One wearing green armor.

In the kitchen, the five girls sitting there were on their feet when they heard the crash. Rushing together into the next room, they froze at the scene that lay before them.

"What's going on here?" Rei demanded.

The two intruders hardly gave their presence any consideration as they stared each other down.

"Robyn!" Serena cried when she noticed the lifeless body on the floor. She ran to help her, but the young red head was already out cold. Serena looked up at the two responsible and frowned.

The closest figure was indeed dressed in green armor. The one wearing it held an ancient sword dangerously and the helmet's face plate was down, hiding the face of its wearer. Facing off the armor clad warrior was none other than Katara--the younger of the two cat sisters.

"Stay back!" Katara warned the girls.

The second her attention was diverted, the green armored figure swung at her with its no-datchi. The feline creature barely managed to dodge the attack as the sword came inches from slicing her again and again. The five scouts watched the whole thing dumbstruck.

"What the heck is going on?" Lita finally found enough voice to demand.

Just as she said that, Katara tripped over some near by furniture in her haste to escape the attacks. With her on the floor, the green armor turned its attention to the group of girls and advanced on them with a menacing gate.

Serena was frozen in horror, the unconscious Robyn still laying in her arms. The other four scouts were stuck where they were; none having enough wits about them to do anything against the ancient sword meant to destroy them.

"NOOO!" Serena and, surprisingly, Katara cried at the same time.

The latter suddenly jumped to her feet and tackled the menacing armor, throwing them both out the window the way they came. The scouts all ran to look out and beheld as the fight continued. Katara seemed bent on leading her attacker further away into the city.

"What was that?" Rei wanted to know.

"Was that one of those guys in the armor?" Mina asked anxiously. "Why was he trying to kill us?"

"I told you guys!" Rei insisted. "Those armors are evil! That's why that one came after us! And that creature saved all of us from being sliced to ribbons just now. We have to help her."

The scouts all looks at each other for any further commentary.

"I dunno you guys," Lita said. "Something just seems funny to me."

"We still should go," Ami added. "We need to get to the bottom of this, right Serena?"

Everyone collectively turned to their blonde leader. But she was staring down at the unconscious redhead.

"Serena?" Rei asked.

She suddenly got a serious expression on her face as she set Robyn gently on the floor and then got to her feet.

"Let's do it, guys," she announced and pulled out her broach.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

The others were right behind her.

"MERCURY STAR POWER!"

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

"MARS STAR POWER!"

The rooms was filled with multicolored lights before they released five young girls in colored sailor uniforms.

"Luna, Artemis," Sailor Moon ordered. "Stay here and watch after Robyn."

"Right," the two cats nodded.

"Come on Scouts! Let's go!"

And with a flash, the celestial warriors were off, out the window and disappeared into the dark city beyond.

"Hurry guys, we've got to find them," Sailor Jupiter urged as the group ran from roof top to roof top.

"I can feel a strange energy," Sailor Mars announced. "We're getting closer. This way!"

A blast of energy lit up a section of buildings and the scouts needed no further guidance to tell them where they were going. They arrived just in time to see a cornered Katana, looking burned and bruised, with the hulking green armor standing over her.

"Guys! She's in trouble! We have to help!" Sailor Venus called urgently.

"Let's go!" Sailor Jupiter led the charge as she jumped down to a lower roof top.

Katana saw them coming and called out to them.

"Keep away!" she warned. "Don't let them fool you! Don't let them--"

She was cut off as the green armored figure raised his mighty sword above his head and it began to glow. With one fatal swing of the powerful weapon, a great wave of energy shot forth and completely swallowed the pink haired cat creature. Katana screamed in pain until the sound from the energy blast drowned her out. And when the light had faded, there was no trace of her save for some burnt roof top where she was standing and a bit of smoke.

All the five scouts could do was watch; wide eyed and horrified.

"He killed her," Sailor Mercury rasped.

"That--that monster!" Sailor Jupiter seethed. "Why I'll...I'll..." Her anger prevented her from finishing the sentence as her fists shook with growing rage.

"I told you," Sailor Mars said with finality.

"I don't believe it," Sailor Moon whispered as she shook her head. But then she clenched her fists and approached the armored form. "All right you! I don't know who you think you are, but killing another being like that is unforgivable and we won't just sit by and let you do it. Prepare to be punished in the name of the moon!"

As she reached for her wand, the armor just stood and watched. But before Sailor Moon could start her attack, her foe suddenly vanished from the roof without a trace. Some of the other Scouts ran up to the spot to make sure for themselves that the armor was really gone. It really was. All foes were gone and there was nothing more that could be done now. Sailor Jupiter was the first one to voice that point.

"Come on guys, let's go," she called. "Besides, we've got a mess to clean up back home."

As the others started off, Sailor Mars gazed over at the burnt roof where the young cat girl had stood. Her last words of warning; "Don't let them fool you." Sailor Mars furrown her borws in determination. She wouldn't.

Robyn awoke to a horrible throbbing in her skull. She moaned as she sat up. That mere motion was enough to cause her to feel dizzy and she had to lean back on one hand for support while the other continued to rub her aching head. What had happened to her last night? She didn't remember going to any killer party. In fact, the only thing she could remember from that night was......

"Good morning!" A blonde head popped up happily before her. "And how are we feeling?"

Robyn looked at Serena with an expression that was a cross between "Are you crazy?" and "Help me, I don't know!".

"That good, huh?" Serena mumbled.

Robyn looked around and blinked. She was sitting in her sleeping bag, though for the life of her, she couldn't recall ever having gone to bed that night. She also managed to notice she was still wearing yesterday's clothes which confused her even more.

"Oh hey, you're awake," Lita called pleasantly from the kitchen. "Hope you're hungry. I'm making waffles!"

"Yay!" Mina cheered from where she was watching Saturday morning cartoons. "I love waffles, don't you guys?"

Rei and Ami looked up from their checker game and voiced their agreements.

Robyn continued to blink at them in complete and utter bafflement. They were all acting so completely normal. So why was she finding it so completely off? Artemis, who had been sleeping beside her all night, woke up and jumped into her lap. Even his manners and meows seemed somewhat concerned and anxious. But why?

"Um...." she called out, trying to find the question that would best describe her confusion. "What--what happened last night?"

All normal activity stopped and everyone looked away. Even though she found out she was not wrong in her assumption that something was amiss, that did not make Robyn feel any more comfortable. She kept looking from one girl to another in hopes that someone would step forward and explain.

"Well, you see," Serena started sheepishly. "There was kinda this accident."

"Yeah, remember when you were on the phone last night Robyn?" Lita quickly jumped in with more confidence. "Well, some punks thought they were funny and threw a brick right through that window you were next to. I guess it startled you so much you backed into the wall and hit your head. You were unconscious all night."

Robyn's eyes grew wide. Though she recalled none of this. It was almost like she was hearing this story as someone who wasn't there at the time. Nonetheless, she continued to play her part.

"Did you call the police?" Robyn gasped.

"Yeah, but they didn't find anyone," Rei offered. "They're still looking for the little snots."

"The paramedics came, too," Mina added to the story--perhaps a bit too pleasantly. "They said you weren't bad enough to go to the hospital so we just put you to bed and hoped you'd wake up the next morning. Lucky for us you did," she laughed.

Rei winced at her blonde friend's bubble headed reply. Robyn didn't really seem to be paying attention.

"You didn't call anyone, did you?" she asked with genuine concern this time.

The group collectively looked away in guilt again. Not only had Robyn not given them any type of number to call, but none of them wanted to try to explain to anyone else what happened. Weaving this big thread of deception to one person was bad enough.

"Well actually," Serena said guiltily as she fiddled with her fingers and avoided Robyn's gaze. "We never got around to--I mean, it didn't seem that important--Wait! You are important, but we just thought---"

"Oh good," Robyn breathed a sigh of relief, putting Serena out of her incoherent, mumbling misery. "The guys would flip if they found out what happened."

The scouts secretly looked at each other. As far as they knew, at least one of those guys did know what happened because he was there.

"So, do you remember anything that happened last night?" Mina wondered. It was actually a good question and everyone was waiting on pins and needles to hear the answer.

Robyn rubbed her temples as she tried to think. "Not really," she admitted. "I remember coming here, but not too much after that."

"A concussion," Ami pointed out. "The collision must have bruised your brain a little. It's nothing serious, of course, but I doubt you'll ever regain any recollection of what happened last night."

Robyn reached back and felt the lump at the back of her skull. At least she knew where that throbbing in her head was coming from now. The girls were somewhat relieved with Ami's diagnosis, but they also felt somewhat sorry for it and it showed clearly.

"Well guys," Lita announced, hoping to lighten the mood. "How about we all go have breakfast now?"

Even Robyn had to smile at that. "Sounds great to me!"

But as they all sat around the counter enjoying Lita's delicious breakfast, Robyn's smile began to fade. The waffles were positively delightful, but she enjoyed them less and less as she tried to pull back any kind of memory from the previous night. She remembered the phone call Lita mentioned, but she couldn't recall what it was about or who she had even been talking to. Was it even anyone she knew? He mind fought and clawed at her thoughts, trying to unlock something; an image, a sound, anything. But nothing ever surfaced.

Meanwhile, Mina and Luna both were taking note of how Artemis remained stationed next to Robyn's chair and continued to watch the young girl the entire time. Rei, however, was preoccupied with the fact that Robyn had grown quiet. Obviously bothered by the nights events and her failure to recall any of it. Something had to be done to get her mind off it, just in case she did remember something.

"Hey Robyn," she suddenly spoke up. "How come I've never seen you wear any make-up?"

The redhead looked up, surprised at the question and then shrugged. "I dunno," she said as she went back to staring at her plate. "I don't really own any."

There was a noisy gasp of surprise from Mina.

"You mean you've never really worn any before?" she demanded.

"No, not really."

There was a space of silence that went through the room. During that time, one could feel the excitement growing from it.

"Uh oh, here it comes," Ami said with a small smile.

Serena and Mina looked at each other with bright faces, about to burst with happiness.

"MAKE OVER!" they both exclaimed.

Robyn's eyes bulged until she was resembling that of a deer caught in the headlights of a Peterbuilt. She tried to make a break for it out of the kitchen, but there was no escaping. She was quite outnumbered.

"Aw, are you sure you have to go already?" Mina whined as Robyn hoisted her bag onto her shoulder.

"Yeah, I really should go now," Robyn replied. "I've got things to do at home, plus a major history test to study for." She was all dolled up now, or at least from the neck up she was. Below that she was still dressed in yesterday's wrinkled clothes which she slept in and she was intent on taking a nice, long shower to clean of the girl's work when she got home.

"Well, we're glad you came over Robyn," Lita smiled. "It was fun."

"Yeah, let's do it again sometime," Mina said.

"Preferably without the brick throwing next time," Robyn added with a crooked smile.

Rei managed to smile back. This girl was okay.

"Bye!" Serena called and waved wildly as Robyn started out the door and down the street. "Don't be a stranger now! We'll miss you! If you're ever in Tokyo, look us up, okay?"

Robyn looked back and almost shook her head in wonder. What a strange bunch of girls. But a nice bunch as well. She smiled and waved back before continuing on her way.

"So what do we do now?" Rei wondered. The group still remained on the porch even though Robyn was almost out of site. "I still can't believe we let her go back to them! Should we call her back?"

"And then what?" Serena demanded. "Try to explain to her that we think her friends are a bunch of barbaric monsters who might try to kill her? She'll think we're insane!"

"Perhaps someone should follow her," Artemis suggested.

"Oh great," Luna huffed. "If you like her so much, why don't you just go home with her then?"

"No wait, that's a good idea," Lita insisted.

"Yes, I get it," Ami agreed. "Artemis can follow Robyn home...."

".....and we can find out where she lives," Mina finished excitedly.

"And if we know where she lives, we'll know where those guys live," Rei continued. "And we can keep an eye on them."

"And maybe we'll even find Darien!" Serena put in.

"Go to it Artemis!" Mina ordered.

That was all the white tom cat needed before he was off down the street. Luna watched him go jealously before strutting off back into the house to moodily give her tail a bath.

Robyn continued slowly down the sidewalk, unaware of all the plans that had been concocted about her. Also unaware of her new white furred stalker. Now left alone, her mind was once again churning through the darkness where her memory of last night should have been. The phone call. She kept going back to the phone call. What was it about? She remembered holding it and she remembered talking. But what did she say? Who was she talking to?

Some kids down the street were playing around and shattered a glass bottle. Robyn stopped dead in her tracks as broken glass fell through her blank memory. Her chest hurt like she had been pushed and her head started to throb again. A figure flashed past her mind's eye. A figure that looked just like--

A silver car stopped right next to her and the sensation vanished. She blinked at her reflection in the window before it rolled down and she peered curiously inside.

"Are you on your way home?" Sage asked from behind the wheel. The odds of him being here at this time were too tremendous for Robyn to count. She merely nodded dumbly.

"Hop in, I'll give you a ride."

Robyn pulled back and looked around. The subway station was now only a mere twenty feet away. "But weren't you just there? You would have to drive all the way back around and then--"

Sage gave her his final answer as he stretched over and opened the door.

"Get in."

This time Robyn obliged without further argument. Poor Artemis was about to have a heart attack as he helplessly watched the car pull away. There was no way he could follow that! He was still staring in disbelief over his bad luck when a motorcycle seemed to just appear out of thin air in the alley way next to him. The noisy machine took off after the car before the small cat even knew what it was. But he did manage to catch a look of the person driving the machine.

"I'd better tell the scouts," Artemis told himself as he raced back to his friends. "It looks like Sailor Uranus and Neptune are here as well."

The car ride was a quiet one; which was a normal thing for Sage, but not for his new passenger. He would catch a glimpse at her from time to time, almost in unease at her uncharacteristic silence. But something even more about her seemed really different and he almost laughed at himself when he finally realized what it was.

"What are you wearing?" he asked out of the blue.

Robyn looked at him blankly. When she finally realized he was referring to the make-up she had on she hastily started trying to rub the stuff off with her sleeve.

"Don't," Sage said gently as he caught her hand. Robyn stopped and looked at him questioningly. "It doesn't look so bad."

Robyn furrowed her brows at him. Then her expression softened and she moved her gaze to her lap. Through her confused feelings, she failed to notice Sage's hand still remained on hers. That is--until he suddenly squeezed it as his body went ridged.

"What is it?" Robyn asked as she looked up at him.

His face was set firm as he stared straight ahead.

"We're being followed."

Robyn sat up straight and looked out the side view mirror. Who was following them out of all that traffic? How could Sage tell?

"Is your seatbelt on?"

"Yes, but---"

Robyn was cut off as she was thrown back into her seat. Her expression was one of complete bafflement as she looked up at Sage. His face was drawn in a look of intense concentration as he ordered the car to accelerate past the speeding limits. Robyn was about to voice her concerns about his speed in the city, but all words were scared from her throat as they narrowly missed one vehicle after another as Sage skillfully wove through the traffic.

Sage glanced in his rear view mirror again. That motorcycle was still on his tail. Who was it? Why were they chasing him? The motorcyclist could weave through the cars far easier than he could; but then again, this was Sage behind the wheel. It would be tough, but he could loose them.

Robyn let out a strangled squeak and braced herself against the door as Sage took a sharp left, almost cutting off a few startled motorists along the way. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. Sage had gone crazy! She prayed she would somehow live through this.

Meanwhile, Sage was checking his mirrors to see if his pursuer was stubborn enough to keep after him.

"Damn," he swore when the motorcycle rounded the corner behind him.

If it was possible, Robyn's wild eyes went even wider. That was the first time she had ever heard Sage use any kind of curse. But there was no time for comments as the car sped off again--faster this time as Sage peeled out onto the freeway ramp.

"Sage!" Robyn managed to cry through her hysteric breathing. "Please Sage, I don't want to d--"

"Don't worry, I've got it under control," Sage said calmly as he shifted gears.

He was flying past the freeway traffic as if they were just toy cars. But that stubborn motorcycle was some how keeping up with him. Out running this guy wasn't going to work. Time for another plan. Robyn screamed again as they suddenly swerved over three lanes and down the nearest off ramp. But unfortunately, the turn onto the main street came up a little too fast too soon for the speed they were going.

Sage gritted his teeth and spun the wheel. The high screech of the tires was sickening as the car slid sideways into the street--clear past the dual lanes and over into the opposite flow of traffic. Robyn dug her nails into the dashboard, almost on the verge of tears. She didn't want to die like this. She was too young! There were so many things she hadn't done, places she had never been. So many desserts she never tried!

Her vehicle death prison wasn't about to wait for her to finish her mental cries. It was off like a shot again the second its wheels were righted--right into the opposite flow of traffic!

Robyn had never experienced her life flash before her eyes until then. Now each scene was whizzing past her like the hoards of cars that kept racing in her direction. How they managed to dodge each one was anyone's guess. And to Robyn's further distress, Sage didn't seem in much of a hurry to get back into the correct lane. In fact, he did just the opposite, and moved over into the furthest lane.

"Sage! If you don't stop this car right now I'm going to kill you!!" Robyn screamed. Her fear was rapidly being replaced by a frantic anger.

"Hold on," was the only reply she got. He made it sound like she was a little kid whining for a piece of candy. How could he be so calm? She was going to die with a complete lunatic! It wasn't fair!

"SAGE!" Robyn cried again as a large truck loomed straight in their path.

The blonde young man said nothing. It was obvious he was aware of the hulking truck barreling down on them. But obviously that didn't mean he thought that was cause enough to slow down either. Robyn screamed his name again as they were about to collide; only to almost bang her head on the window as they turned madly down the next street at the last possible second.

Even though they were on the correct side of the road now, Robyn was hardly happy. She still knew she was going to die and no force on Earth could possibly save her. They were heading towards the water front this time--no doubt to finish this joy ride with a nice swan dive into the bay. But it was worse than that when Robyn realized where they were going. The bridge across the river was raising up to let a tall ship pass by. And not only was Sage ignoring the flashing lights telling him to stop, he seemed oblivious to the fact that his path was now no longer passable.

"Oh man! I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'm gonnadie!" Robyn kept repeating as they raced up the giant ramp.

Her stomach went up in her throat as she experienced the sickening sensation of being weightless in a several thousand pound vehicle. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as they sailed over the gap with the water dozens of feet below. The other half of the bridge was coming up. This was going to hurt when they hit ground. Robyn prepared herself as best she could and even heard Sage grunt as they hit the ground on the other side with bone jarring force. The car swerved crazily when it landed, but Sage managed to get it under control and parked it sideways as it came to a stop.

The second the vehicle had halted, Robyn threw off her seatbelt and flew out of the car and onto the solid, wonderfully stationary cement. Sage got out as well; though in a far more calm and dignified manner. He stood straight and gazed out, almost proudly, across the way of the river to see if his tailgater could follow THAT act.

At the other side of the river, Amara was flaming under her helmet. After all that she had gone through just to follow that hot shot and he still out did her. In a luxury car no less! With her pride slightly bruised, Amara was not going to wait around to be scoffed at and drove off on her motorcycle before anyone could see her.

With the threat now gone. Sage peeked over to check on his passenger. Robyn was testing to make sure all her bones were still in the right places as she stood.

"Are you okay?" Sage asked.

"I th-think so," Robyn replied in a small, shaky voice. "Yeah."

"Do you want to do it again?"

"NO!"

Robyn stared at him in utter disbelief. The look in his eyes was reminiscent of a child just handed a large, brightly wrapped package on Christmas morning. What had gotten into him?!

"You almost killed me!" she screamed. "I'm not ever riding with you again!!"

Sage merely gave her a calm smile which only succeeded in making her blood boil.

"Then how else will you get home?" he asked.

"Humph!" Robyn folder her arms and turned her back indignantly. "I'd be surprised if you could find it after driving halfway across the city like that."

That statement actually caused Sage to blink and look around at his surroundings just to make sure he did know where he was.

"Get in," he then said as he got back in the car.

Robyn opened the passenger side door, but she refused to set foot inside.

"Come on," Sage urged gently. "I promise I'll go real slow."

Now partially insulted by his patronizing tone, Robyn plopped herself inside and closed the door indignantly.

"I hope the cops find you and give you a ticket," was her not so witty retort.

Sage just smiled as they put on their seatbelts and started off again. After their encounter, the bearer of Halo was feeling quite light hearted despite what had just happened. Being behind the wheel that way always had a certain affect on him. Unfortunately, Robyn did not reflect the same and was brooding silently while color was still trying to return to her face.

"I wouldn't have let anything happen to you," Sage said through the silence.

Robyn threw him a hard glance, but then her features softened as his statement sunk in.

"So, how do you know how to drive like that anyway?" Robyn then asked.

"Practice. I've been racing ever since I was 14."

Robyn looked over at him, her initial hostility practically gone now. "Really? I didn't know that. How come I've never seen you race?"

"My mother doesn't like me doing it very often. She thinks it's too dangerous. My father and I used to have to sneak out to the tracks at night for practice."

A certain wonder crossed Robyn's face as she watched his profile. She had never seen him brighten over any subject like this. It was like there was suddenly a new light in Sage that had never been there before. The mere transition she saw was enough to awe her into silence.

"Maybe I'll take you sometime," Sage added as an afterthought.

Robyn had to shake her head before she could comprehend what he just said. "Really?" she wondered.

"Sure. It's nothing like what we did earlier. But it's still fun."

Her brows shot up from the fact that Sage was actually inviting her to go somewhere with him. Then they furrowed again as a different thought suddenly shot through her brain.

"Sage?" she wondered. "You were there at Cye's house all night, weren't you?"

"Yes."

"And the others, too?"

"Mmm hmm."

Robyn nodded. She expected that answer, but that same feeling from before that something wasn't right was coming back. She looked up at Sage again.

"You seriously going to take me racing some time?"

Sage shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Cool," Robyn nodded and then smiled. "I'd like that."

Sage glanced over at her and smiled back.

The dark, lean figure sat on her throne in front of a large black crystal that seemed to jut out of nowhere from the blackened floor of her throne room. Next to it, a tall, cat-like figure materialized from the dark haze.

"You summoned me," Katana, the oldest of the two sisters stated. She shook some of her silver hair out of her slanted yellow eyes as she looked up.

The personage she addressed tapped her fingernails on the armrest. "Where is your sister?" she demanded.

Katana narrowed her eyes and looked away.

"Here, my Lady," The thought to be dead Katara announced as she, too, appeared out of the fog. There wasn't a scratch on her as if the earlier battle between her and the mysterious armor never happened.

"What have you two been doing lately?" the evil voice snapped like thunder. "This was not the task I had sent you out to accomplish."

"I'm sorry my Lady," Katara quickly apologized. "But we--"

She was quickly cut off by her older sister.

"I assure you my Lady that what we have done will prove to help us later," Katana spoke with confidence. "Two different groups of warriors could stand in the way of our plans. We have watched them both carefully these past few days. If they were to work together against us our goals my not be achieved. We have been working to make sure that does not happen. If each group does not trust the other then they cannot unite against us. Their mistrust and paranoia might even cause them to fight each other and save us the trouble."

The Lady of the darkness thought this over. The idea had merit. Perhaps it would be useful. Still, there were more important matters to attend to.

"Nevertheless Katana," she ordered. "Our time is growing short. The best opportunity for the Revival is close at hand and all our energies should be spent in preparation for it. We must move swift and wisely if we are to properly condition our guest for the task."

"Yes Lady," the Amazon Duo replied before fading away into the darkness.

Once left alone, the Dark Lady stared at her waiting black crystal. It seemed to radiate a kind of anticipation of what was to come. Yes, soon. Soon the world would see what it could do.


	8. Chapter Eight: Ghosts of the Past

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Eight: Ghosts From the Past

Cye blinked and looked at his surroundings. How they ended up here was a mystery to him.

"Uh, Robyn, why are we going down the pet food isle?"

The young redhead seemed to be only slightly listening to him as she sighed sadly. "I wish I had a pet to buy food for Cye," she relayed to him.

Cye breathed out. They had been through his conversation before.

"Robyn, I've told you several times already--" he started his usual argument.

"But at my friend's house they had a kitty and he was soooo sweet and I want one Cye. I'm lonely."

"Lonely?" Cye defended. "Aren't I around enough?"

"Yeah, but you don't meow or purr or snuggle up in my lap to sleep."

And the look on Cye's face told he wasn't about to start either. "Come on, let's get back to shopping for regular food."

Grocery shopping was pretty much a weekly tradition for the both of them now. Mrs. Mouri never liked to do it much, and since Cye did most of the cooking she would merely give him the money and let him go buy whatever he needed for the things he wanted to make. Cye didn't mind Robyn's company. It sure beat shopping alone. Though when Robyn shopped while she was hungry, she did tend to get on his nerves as she would constantly try to slip extra things into the cart.

"Robyn, I said put the ice cream back," Cye warned.

"Awww..." Robyn slumped her shoulders as she returned the double fudge chocolate deluxe back to the freezer. "Can I at least get a candy bar?"

"Fine," Cye relented and Robyn happily skipped off to choose one. Sometimes it was like shopping with a four-year-old. Though not nearly as bad as shopping with a hungry Kento. After trying that once, Cye had vowed never again.

He wheeled the cart full of groceries to the check out stand where Robyn found him and donated her choices to the haul. She had picked out two candy bars--one for Cye as well. And if he didn't want it she would be glad to eat it for him. Cye didn't mind. It was just nice to see her happy. Robyn didn't say much to him any more. The stress of school and perhaps other things as well were getting to her. She didn't show it, but he could tell.

Robyn didn't deal with stress as most people did. She always stayed happy no matter what was bothering her. That was her gift. It sometimes worried Cye how easily she could hide such things, but then again he could always find other ways to tell. Robyn had gotten very absentminded lately. Often she forgot to turn off lights, or even the oven. She would misplace things or forget what she was doing or where she was going. If Cye hadn't insisted on driving, she probably would have locked the keys in the car as well.

It was school that was doing this to her. Robyn had recently confessed that if she didn't pass her history class she wouldn't graduate. It was her worst subject and she had been studying as much as she could for the finals which were only two days away. Cye did what he could to help her when he wasn't working on his own school work. But until the finals were over, all he could really do was pray they would all get through this and Robyn wouldn't accidentally burn the house down in the meantime.

When they got home from their trip, Robyn started putting things away while Cye set about making dinner. As he was cleaning vegetables in the sink, Cye once again noticed Robyn's eerie stillness as she set about her chores. It wasn't like her and Cye wasn't about to have any of that. Robyn looked up at him with wide, indignant eyes when he flicked cold water at her.

"CYE!" she protested as he did it again.

The rusty haired young man just laughed and stuck out his tongue at her--causing them to almost seem like they switched personalities for a moment. Robyn, however, was quick to regain her roll and tried to splash him back. But with water being Cye's element, she did a poor job of it. Only when Robyn threatened to throw Cye's veggies across the room then he let her be.

"Sheesh, you're such a cheater Robyn," Cye had to get one more lick in.

Robyn merely razzed him before heading upstairs to continue her studies.

Rowen tapped his pencil for what had to be the billionth time as he stared at the blank sheet of paper in front of him. Not only was he doomed to take nothing but college finals in the next two days, but, being the sucker that he was, he also happened to be that year's valedictorian (surprise, surprise) and was therefore expected to have a speech ready come the graduation date. Rowen sighed and leaned back in his squeaky chair. What a horrible task. He had been thinking about it for days now and every time he tried to start, his mind just went as blank as the paper before him.

He had decided multiple times already that his eraser didn't taste all that great, but for some reason, that didn't stop him from chewing on it. It was just too quiet. Too deathly quiet to think. And thinking about the quiet made Rowen turn to the pile of pictures in the corner of his desk. The representation of the only thing that took away that horrible, empty stillness he lived with.

Abandoning his pencil for the photographs, Rowen slowly went through them. It was a few weekends ago when the group went up camping in the mountains. Rowen, who was also taking a photography class, brought his camera up with him and each of them had passed it around and took some pictures. There were a few of wildlife. That was Sage; he always had a good eye for composition. A nice, clear picture of a thumb and a blurry background. That had to be Ryo. He didn't exactly carry on his father's photography skills.

Rowen paused when he reached a certain picture. He couldn't remember who had taken that one. They had all gone fishing in this river--yes, even Cye. Though he made quite a fuss about the whole deal and how it wasn't right. But Kento, the ever present voice of reason (Not!) stated that "If God hadn't meant animals to be eaten, he wouldn't have made them out of meat." And who can argue with that logic?

The picture was of him and Robyn. He was sitting on a rock and proudly holding up his catch with Robyn hugging his neck from behind. The fish was a good sized one and they had more or less caught it together. Cye was in the background, looking put out as always. Rowen chuckled as he recalled Cye snuck all the lures off the end of his line so he wouldn't catch anything. He was always so funny that way. The next picture he recalled taking himself and Rowen laughed right out when he saw it. Kento had one of the fish and was acting like he was going to kiss its scaly, puckered lips. Rowen was going to have to send that one to Cye. He'd flip.

The rest of the pictures were of random members of the group either playing in the stream or the forest. They were fun to look at, but when he was done, Rowen found himself going back to that one picture of him......and her. She looked so different than when he had first met her. Lighter and happier. He took note of her arm resting against his collar bone and wished he had taken time to notice it then. Rowen took the picture and folded it so it would stand up on his desk. That very same action also folded Cye out of the picture as well.

Rowen rubbed his arm indecisively as he glanced at the clock. The time was approximately "freaking late" as Kento often called it when referring to the long hours Rowen stayed awake. Rowen chewed on his lip for a bit and then finally grabbed the phone and dialed. He waited with baited breath as it rang and rang. Just as he was about to hang up, someone picked up.

"This is Rowen, isn't it?" stated the voice on the other end.

"Hi Robyn," he grinned into the receiver. His voice disguised any of the anticipation he was feeling earlier. "How did you know it was me?"

"Look at your clock and do the math genius boy," came the retort. "You're lucky you didn't wake anyone up over here."

"Sorry, I just felt like calling somebody....."

"And you figured I'd be the only one up," Robyn replied dully. "Thanks for the thought. So how's the speech coming?"

Rowen glanced over at his empty paper. "It's going okay."

"You haven't even started yet, have you?"

"Well, no."

Robyn let out a loud breath into the phone. "And you're calling me, why? I don't think I'll be much help."

"You don't have any ideas at all?" Rowen asked hopefully.

"I dunno. Just don't do what everyone else does, like tell some stupid story and then make a comment at the end. You get to say something to the entire student body. I'd make it count if I were you."

"Yeah right. I've been at the college all year. I'm hardly even at the high school. I'll tell them all how great it was not to have to look at them."

"Wise ass."

Rowen grinned. "I'd rather be a wise ass than a dumb ass."

He could hear Robyn snort on the other end. "Kiss MY ass." And then. "Okay, well I'm going to hang up now. Get some sleep, okay Rowen? You'll think of something in the morning."

"Okay. Good night Robyn."

"Night, Ro."

The other end of the line went still as Robyn hung up. Rowen kept the phone to his ear as if he had one last thing to say. But eventually, he returned the receiver back to its cradle.

Robyn trudged heavily into the kitchen. It was still the middle of the night and she was hating every second of it. Her whole body was fatigued and her eyes were killing her, but her brain was still on over drive. She had been cramming all night so when she tried to get to sleep dates and names and all other kinds of information would not stop whizzing through her recollection. Robyn almost whimpered as she turned on the searing kitchen light and shuffled to the fridge. Being too tired to sleep sucked royally.

The inside of the fridge consoled her only slightly. She rummaged around the contents and finally decided to grab some milk for the cookies stashed in the cupboard. Robyn closed the door and turned around. As a reaction to what her eyes beheld, her wrist went limp and the carton of milk fell to the kitchen floor. Milk splattered every which way; on her bare feet and pajamas. But that was the least of Robyn's worries.

Cye rolled over in bed. Something was probing through his dreams. Something urgent and relentless. A feeling of anxiety that came from out of nowhere. It invaded every part of his consciousness until his only way to escape it was to wake up. Cye's eyes popped open and he immediately felt stress in his knotted muscles and an anxious beating in his chest. Faster and faster his heart was pounding as if he were about to start a race. What was going on?

He felt like he was back standing before Talpa's gates or facing off with the Warlords. The way his nerves stood on end; it was the way he felt when he knew evil was near. Cye sat up when his instincts wouldn't let him rest. Something was amiss around here. He stood and crept out into the dark, silent hall. Listening to the stillness, he couldn't find anything wrong. Next he slipped down the stairs and was surprised to see the kitchen light was on. He crept closer as his keen ears picked up a low voice that was not part of the household.

Robyn stood deathly still. She didn't move--didn't dare breathe. Her bottom lip quivered uncontrollably and her eyes were wide in fear. She was staring down the barrel of a silver pistol which was aimed straight at her face. Its holder was fingering the trigger. When Robyn saw who was pointing it at her, her heart broke and her blood froze in her veins simultaneously.

"You never should have come back," her father growled. There was murder in his beady, unfeeling eyes.

Robyn's heart wanted to jump out of her chest and run far away. It pounded relentlessly at her rib cage. A lump formed in her throat and she was very much aware how alone she was right now, even in her own home. Her family--her real family--was so close, yet so far away. They would never know what happened.

"But you just had to return and torment me again," continued the gruff, heavy man. "How could you after what you did? Now you pay the price of coming back. You will never haunt me again."

Robyn closed her eyes. This was it; she was going to die right here. Just a few more moments and Robyn would never have to worry, never have to cry, never have another chance to laugh ever again. It would be the end of everything.

"Robyn! Duck!" Cye cried from the kitchen doorway. He had a plate in his hand and he threw it frisbee style at the hand holding the gun.

The plate connected. The gun went off. Robyn screamed and fell to the floor, eyes shut. The plate shattered. Cye charged. The gun went off again. The kitchen light exploded and the room was plunged into darkness. Cye looked around wildly in the pitch black. There was no sound of a retreat, but he couldn't sense anyone anywhere.

"Cye? CYE!" Robyn's high pitched voice was hysterical. The darkness only heightened her fear of who was dead and who was still alive in the room with her.

"I'm coming," he called back as he followed the sound of her voice. He jumped when his barefoot came in contact with the broken glass on the floor and lost his balance. Robyn half caught him in his fall whether she meant to or not. Both crashed into the cabinets before Robyn clung to him and started sobbing uncontrollably. Cye put one arm around her quivering form while he tried to blindly remove a large piece of glass from his foot with his free hand.

In the moment he felt strangely detached from it all. Even from the sobbing girl on his chest. Everything around him felt muddy but his mind was crystal clear. It was the soul of his armor that had awakened him in time. Who knows what would have happened without it. His armor had shared in the protective feelings he felt for his friend. So strange, for the armor was never protective of anything but its wearer. For whatever reason it chose to act, Cye was thankful for it.

Mrs. Mouri had been awoken by the gunshots and ran downstairs soon after. Incredibly calm despite what happened, Cye herded the now two hysterical females back upstairs where they all waited together in his mother's room for the police to arrive.

Cye gazed over at the digital clock next to the couch which now read 4:25. Policemen had been crawling around his house for a few hours now. Each of them had relayed the story of what happened several different times and were all tired of repeating it. The police had combed and recombed the entire house. Although there was plenty of evidence to show what had happened, it still remained a mystery how the intruder got in and out of the house so quickly and quietly. Cye was too tired to think about it himself and hardly cared as long as that low life was no longer posed an immediate threat.

He gazed over at Robyn next. She was the only one who hadn't gotten any sleep before the incident and it showed. She was slumped forward and staring at the floor with her elbows resting on her knees. The only time she ever said anything was when a cop asked her a question. They were all leaving now; having done everything they could. One officer assured Cye's mother that there would be a team keeping watch on the house twenty-four/seven until the culprit was found. Cye promised himself he would keep a watch out, too.

Cye turned to Robyn when all but two of the officers had left. The remaining pair had been assigned to stay inside the house at least until the morning so the family could get some sleep. They all needed it.

"Come on Robyn, let's go upstairs and go to bed," Cye said gently. "We still have finals tomorrow; or today, I guess." His little attempt at humor went unnoticed as Robyn quietly stood.

"Yes," Mrs. Mouri agreed. She had been sitting in the other chair across the room. "It will be hard, but we should all try to get some sleep. Things will look better in the morning."

The two officers assured them they would stay on guard as the small family split off to their respective bedrooms. Cye was about ready to plop into bed again when he noticed Robyn standing in the doorway.

"What is it?" he wondered.

"Can--can I stay in here with you tonight?" she asked weakly. "I'll even sleep on the floor if you'll let me. I--I just don't want to be alone."

Her eyes were filled with not only lingering fear, but heart break. To have her own father turn on her, not that she hadn't experienced something like that before. But Cye could hardly comprehend what it would feel like.

"Come here," he said and motioned for her to approach. Robyn walked in timidly, but Cye continued to give her encouraging signals and allowed her to crawl into his bed. He plopped himself next to her and pulled up the covers before reaching over to turn off the lamp.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Robyn gave him a dubious glance. Cye was usually pretty wary about such situations.

"Just promise me you'll get some sleep," came the reply in the darkness.

"I'll try."

The two went silent for quite a while. Cye thought Robyn had actually gone to sleep when he started to notice small sniffling coming from her side of the bed. He turned his head ever so slightly so he could watch her out of the corner of his eye. Just as he thought, she was attempting to hide it, but he couldn't miss her trying to inconspicuously wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Robyn?" Cye shifted himself up on an elbow and placed the opposite hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry," Robyn rasped as she wiped her face more hastily. "I know I've done this too much already. But I really thought I was going to die there. All alone. Nothing is so terrifying as taking your last breath all by yourself. I--I never would have thought it a million years you would have--"

"Don't," Cye whispered, forceful but gentle. He put his arms around her and pulled her tight against him. "Don't think about it any more. It doesn't matter what might have happened; it's all over now." Robyn just buried her face in his shoulder and clung to his T-shirt tightly. "I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

After that revelation, Cye blinked in the dark. Perhaps that was why the armor chose to wake him. With the armor's symbol of trust, it wouldn't allow Cye to break his promises if it could help it. With that in mind, Cye almost smiled to himself. Robyn eventually relaxed in his embrace and the two teens fell together in a fitful sleep, both feeling very much protected.

Despite the lack of sleep, Cye woke up nearly the same time he did every morning out of pure habit. With eyes still refusing to focus, he managed to half roll himself over to check the clock. He groaned at the time. He needed a few more hours, not the twenty odd minutes he could afford to waste in bed and still have enough time to get ready for school. He settled onto his back again before recalling he wasn't alone this morning. Robyn was still fast asleep beside him. Her face was half buried in the pillow next to his shoulder while her wild, red hair spilled about and her arm draped loosely across Cye's midsection.

The bearer of Torrent pulled himself up slowly into a more sitting position and grabbed the phone at his bedside. As he dialed a familiar number, his mother popped her head into his room to see if he was awake or not. She looked like she had gotten about as much sleep as he did, but she also had to make sure her son made it to school on this important day. Cye waved to her self-consciously as he listened to the phone ring on the other end. He hoped he wouldn't catch too much flack for being caught with a girl in his bed. All Mrs. Mouri did was smile her understanding and then head back downstairs.

"Hullo?" came as scratchy voice as the phone was finally answered. Cye could tell from the depth of the voice that it was Kento--even though he sounded like he had just gotten up as well. The rest of his family had most likely been up for a while. He had a habit of sleeping in later since he could just drive to school.

"Kento? It's Cye."

"'Sup dude," came the tired reply. "Why the heck are you ca--" He paused to stifle a yawn. "Calling so early?"

"Kento, something happened last night," Cye began and proceeded to relay last night's horrifying ordeal.

"WHAT?!" Kento shrieked, now fully awake. He proceeded in letting out a long string of curses into the phone. He was cut off quickly by Mama Faun who let off her own string of threats for swearing around the younger kids. After arguing with his parents for a moment--all this was done within Cye's hearing--Kento retreated to the other room where he could speak his mind without being censored.

The bearer of Hardrock was in rare form after that. All Cye had to do was give the word and he would hunt the bastard down and Iron Rock Crush his ass. Cye had to spend several more minutes just to calm him down.

"I'm not trying to hire a hitman," he insisted. "I just wanted to let you know what happened since you're my friend."

That confession succeeded in softening the edges. "Thanks buddy," was the delayed reply. "So, you still want me to pick you guys up at the usual?"

"Yes, that would be great. I think we'll wait until we get to school to tell the others."

"Right, I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye Kento." Cye hung up the phone and then looked down at the still slumbering girl beside him. He hated the thought of waking her up, but it had to be done. "Come on Robyn," he said as he nudged her. "It's time for school."

Robyn moaned softly and rolled onto her back. She scrunched up her face and then rubbed her nose as if something had been tickling in. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and sighed at him.

"Morning."

Cye managed a small smile back. "Good morning. Did you dream anything last night?"

"Nothing besides the obvious," Robyn replied, instantly going back to what happened that night. Cye couldn't let her dwell on that.

"I dreamed that a big, giant fat man was trying to sit on me."

Robyn let out a snort of laughter, then a sniffle. She rubbed her nose again and let out a deep breath. "Man Cye, I'm so freaking tired. Today's gonna suck."

Cye nodded, hardly able to disagree. "Well, let's get up and get it over with. Then we can go to bed early tonight."

Robyn nodded and dragged herself to the shower.

When they got to school that morning, Robyn ditched Kento and Cye right off to go to her first hour class early. Kento was horrible when he had arrived at their door that morning. Robyn guessed he would fuss over her to some degree, but she didn't predict he would be the same way with Cye, too. He even offered to carry his best friend to the jeep when he saw he was limping. Cye about smacked him with his backpack. And if that wasn't bad enough, to imagine three more like that when they got to school was more than Robyn could handle at the moment. Plus, she needed the extra time to study. Right now she had to focus all her remaining energy on her school work and manage to get through the day without bombing any finals.

The schedule for finals was different than a normal day. Each final took two class hours and they went on for two days. The first day would be spent with two hours of first and second period, lunch, then two hours of third period and an hour of seventh. The second day would go the same with fourth, fifth, lunch, sixth, and then the second half of seventh. So even though it was technically third period, Rowen was hurrying to his second hour class. He had heard from Cye what had happened and was anxious to see Robyn before the college trigonometry final began. Unfortunately, his last college final ran longer than he had wanted and he had arrived to the class late. There was no time for talk, just for testing now.

Rowen had only put his name on his paper when he looked up to check on Robyn. The seating was further apart today as prior the professor's request. Of course, there was no talking either so Rowen was really finding himself in a bind. When he glanced over at his friend his heart went out to her. She was slumped over her paper; staring at it, trying to concentrate through her fatigue. It was obvious she was getting frustrated. She kept rubbing her face and erasing her answers. Rowen found himself clutching his own pencil. If only he could stop time so he could tell her he was there for her. Calm her down and help her focus. Let the poor girl get some sleep for crying out loud! But his wishing was inconsequential. The only thing that did result from it was to cause Rowen to take longer than his usual time to finish the test.

Even then, Rowen still finished before Robyn did. She was one of the last people to complete it. Lunch period had already started by the time she staggered out of the college building. Robyn blinked in the bright sunlight before she realized the blue haired ronin had been waiting for her. Rowen quickly caught up and fell in step beside her as she made her way towards the cluster of tables stationed outside where the group usually ate. Robyn didn't say anything, but she was thankful that he had remained silent just this once.

The others were already eating at one table when they arrived. Kento and Ryo had their backs turned to the late arrivals, but as they approached, the former turned to them with a half eaten burger still hanging from his mouth. He managed to somehow mumble Robyn's name while padding the space between him and Ryo. Robyn sat down with a weak smile. Her presence was very small and timid today; unlike the bright, mischievous aura she usually gave out. Rowen frowned momentarily at this, obviously wanting to sit beside her. But since those spots were taken, he settled for the empty spot next to Sage and sulked while he pulled out his lunch.

"So anyways, as I was saying," Kento continued after swallowing his burger in one huge gulp. "I couldn't believe where that old bat got all her questions for that final. There was some clear from the first of the year. Like I can remember all the stuff we learned back then! If I didn't have Cye's notes, I would have been screwed. Biology. Bah! Who needs it!"

Cye managed to throw his friend a warning look from the other end of the table. It happened to be his favorite subject, thank you very much. And it was his notes that helped him pass. He should show a little respect and gratitude. Robyn, who would have characteristically taken this cue to start teasing whomever she could, sat quietly with her hands in her lap and her head down. She didn't even bother to pull out her lunch. She was too tired and disheartened to be hungry.

Kento, while acting like it was the norm, gave her shoulders a small squeeze as he continued on with the conversation. Robyn leaned into him a little. How she wanted to just curl up next to him and fall asleep. Or, somehow, borrow his strength to get her through this horror of a day.

"Well, now that we know all about Kento's day," Cye announced. "Anyone else have problems with finals so far?"

"They haven't been too bad," Sage admitted. "My worst ones are tomorrow."

Robyn clenched her fists as the others gave their spill. Hers had been horrible. She couldn't remember anything; she couldn't even think straight. She was so exhausted. And after how hard she studied over the past few days. She had put so much effort into it and wanted so badly to do well. It wasn't fair! Unbidden tears we beginning to sting her eyes.

Her thoughts were cut off when a hand closed around the trembling fist in her lap. Robyn looked up to see Ryo giving her an encouraging smile. He didn't say anything; didn't have to. And Robyn was grateful for it. She didn't need to hear it, but knowing they were there for her through simple actions were enough. She almost smiled herself when another's grip fell on her shoulders. It was Rowen. She hadn't even noticed he had gotten up.

"I'm going now," he announced to whoever it may concern. "I want to get an early start on my next final so I'll have time to finish it. I'll see you guys later."

Robyn thought his grip was kind of tight. Sometimes he grabbed her shoulders when teasing her and would give them that horribly uncomfortable grip that made you want to immediately shrug them off. This time was different. He simply felt tense. He was also gone before Robyn could analyze it further.

Cye covered a yawn as he trudged to his seventh hour class. This was it. The last one for today. He could make it just one more hour. But by the Ancient he was tired! Still, he had gotten by with less sleep than this before. When fighting Talpa, any of them hardly slept. They lived by quick naps alone, stealing sleep whenever they could. He was a bit used to it, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it. And he could only imagine how Robyn was faring with even less sleep than him.

"Cye!"

The bearer of Torrent paused when he heard his name barked over the hustle of the crowded hall. He turned around to see Rowen, of all people, weaving up the hall towards him. Now there was something to see. The Warrior of Strata actually inside the high school building was a rare site indeed.

"Rowen, what is it?" Cye wondered and with good reason.

The taller ronin seemed a bit more nervous than usual as he pulled him off to the side. "I've been surfing around the internet," he confessed. "And I found something--"

"Didn't you say you had a final?" Cye interrupted.

"Look, I lied, okay?" Rowen cried. "I had Photography and my final project was already turned in. Can we focus on the point I'm trying to make here, please?"

Cye raised a tolerant eye brow at him. With his lack of sleep, he was just daring Rowen to make this message worth his while.

"It's about Robyn's father," Rowen relayed slowly. "He--he's dead Cye."

Cye, whose arms had been folded impatiently, now dropped to his side in surprise. "What?! What happened? Did something happen to him today?"

Rowen grimly shook his head. "No. He's been dead far longer than that. Try two years."

"You're crazy Rowen," Cye insisted. "I saw him last night with my own eyes. He was there. It was him. How on earth did you come up with such an incredibly illogical--"

"Here," Rowen said flatly as he shoved a paper in Cye's face. "That's him, isn't it?"

Cye took the document in his hands and studied it. The picture in the top left corner was of the same man. But what was this? A newspaper clipping?

"An obituary," Rowen clarified. "Dated more than two years ago. The cause of death was alcohol abuse. Doesn't that sound more like your man?"

Cye just continued to stare with a puzzled expression at the paper in his hands. It told time and date of death along with the date of the funeral and where he was buried. Could this be possible? If this really was Robyn's father, then who was in his house last night? Was it a faked death two years ago?

"I doubt very much Robyn's real father survived," Rowen said to answer his thoughts. "Think about it. From what I've heard, the man was an abusive drunk, not a stalking psycho path. Men like that are also cowards. I doubt he'd dare to pull a gun or do anything like that. And at the park in Tokyo, wasn't it an incredible coincidence that he just happened to be there? Also amazing how he found out your address only a few days later. And I don't know about the last time, but from what I saw of him, he seemed incredibly sober for an alcoholic."

Cye furrowed his brows deeper as Rowen continued his argument. "So just what are you getting at?"

"I'm not sure, really," Rowen admitted. "But something is definitely going on. Something unnatural. I've already ran all the facts by Sage. He wants to come over after school and see what he can find."

"And Robyn?"

"Sage decided it would be best if she weren't there at the time."

Cye tapped his foot impatiently. "So where is she going to be then?"

Rowen put a hand on his shoulder just as a short bell rang, signaling the students all had one minute left to get to class. "I've got it all covered."

"Rowen's so full of crap," Robyn grouched as she wandered down the city sidewalks. "I hate him."

Kento, who was strolling beside her with his hands in his pockets, gave a lop sided grin. "Why is that?"

Robyn made a noise of frustration. "Would it kill that guy to just once to give me a straight answer? I don't know why he gets such morbid pleasure out of conspiring against poor, stupid me. Who does he think he is; kicking me out of my own home? 'Oh Robyn, just go hang out with Kento while we take care of some stuff'. What kind of stuff? It's a bunch of BS is what it is! He thinks he's so--" She paused when she heard chuckling in the background. "Excuse me? How can you find this amusing?"

"Sorry," Kento apologized with a smile. "I think it's just funny the way you go on sometimes."

Robyn stopped in her tracks and threw him an indignant look. "Humph! I'd like to see how funny you think everything is when you relive the last 24 hours I've had!"

That sobered the warrior up quickly. Kento's stance was changed at an instant. Now he walked slightly behind her with a bit of guilt in his stride. But was it for making fun of her, or from regret for not being there for her earlier when the incident had happened?

"So," Robyn then said after a while. "Just what are Rowen and Sage doing over there?"

"I'm not sure," Kento replied. "They didn't really tell me much. I guess because if I didn't know then you wouldn't make me tell you."

Robyn nodded. She would have made him spill it if he did know. "And Ryo's the only one not there?"

"Yeah, he'd be with us if he didn't have detention." Kento snorted. "Like there's a time when he doesn't have it."

Robyn made a sound in her throat similar to a laugh. It was a sad truth. Poor Ryo. They should pay him a janitor's wage for all the detention hours he had spent cleaning that school. It was one of the great mysteries of the world how such a kind hearted kid could get in trouble so often.

"I know this whole thing is all about last night," Robyn stated. "I just wish I knew what they were trying to do. Couldn't they do it with me home? I'm so tired Kento. I just want to curl up in bed and sleep for as long as the world will let me."

"I'd offer you my place, but it's so noisy you know you won't get any sleep there."

Robyn frowned. Yes, Mei Ryu and Chun Fa would be bouncing all around her the second she arrived. That definitely wasn't something she could handle at the moment. "It would have been nice to have the keys to Rowen's place. We know that's empty. You'd think he'd give me that much after all this."

Kento shook his head. He was starting to think Robyn liked complaining about all the things Rowen did. Robyn made a sound of surprise when he grabbed her arm and guided her down a different direction than Robyn was planning to go.

"I've got a place where we can relax for a while," he explained before Robyn could start demanding answers.

Willing to take just about anything at this point, Robyn allowed him to lead her into one of the taller city buildings. It was quiet inside; as well as neat and clean. A few people walked around with purpose in their stride, but not many noticed to two teens. Kento led the way through the lobby and to the elevator where the two rode to the top floor. Once out, they continued up two more flights of stairs until they emerged on the roof of the building. The four sides of the roof had guard rails strung along them and a few people were already up there enjoying the view. The two teens wandered over to a place unoccupied by any other sightseers.

"Nice," Robyn said as she leaned on the rail and looked over the city. The sun shone warm upon her face and a slight breeze played with her thin bangs. Robyn closed her eyes and let the gentle warmth calm and sooth her.

"I thought you'd like it," Kento said. "We can just sit around here and take it easy until Cye calls us to come back."

Robyn nodded, but then glanced behind her curiously when she realized Kento wasn't by her side, but a few paces away from the building's edge.

"Kento Rei Faun, what are you doing back there?" she demanded. "You're not afraid of heights, are you?"

"No," Kento insisted. He stepped closer to prove his point though one could not ignore the hesitance in his movements. "Not really. It just makes me feel....a bit out of my element, I guess." He leaned carefully over the rail to see the cars and people like tiny ants below. "Being up high kind of makes me feel like far away from what I know to be familiar and solid, you know?"

Robyn nodded despite the fact that she was silently struggling to understand the difference in solidity between the top of a building and the sidewalk.

"This isn't my place," Kento went on to explain. "It's Rowen's. He likes being way up in the air with nothing solid and sure beneath him. So when I'm up here, it feels kind of like walking into someone else's bed room. Sure, there's nothing wrong with it. But you can't stay there forever because it's not yours."

Robyn glanced over at his face. The bearer of Hardrock wasn't nearly as versed in the spoken language as say maybe Sage or even herself. While he understood such things well, translating such things into words was something completely different. Robyn could tell by the way he furrowed his brows he was doing his best to help her understand how he was. She tried to see past just the words and get from the tone of his voice what he was meaning. Kento glanced at her, hoping she wasn't giving him that blank look his comrades often gave him when he tried to explain things. Robyn did the best she could, but it was difficult for her to even begin to understand what it was like to have an element that was like you in the first place; let alone how it made you react to others.

She smiled at him, wishing she could understand. But she could not. Not entirely. Just as there were parts of her they could never fully understand as well. But that was okay. It was the differences that made friendship worth while and getting to know what you didn't understand was what made the adventure.

"I wish I knew what it was like," Robyn announced. "Perhaps it's bad, but I can't help wishing sometimes that I have what you have."

Kento looked over at her with an ironic smile. "Be careful Robyn, there's far more to it than what you think you know. You don't know what you ask for."

"Exactly," Robyn insisted. "How can I even begin to understand? I only know a little bit of what you guys went through. I wish I understood it more."

Kento turned at looked at her seriously. "No, you don't," he insisted. "You don't need to know any more about it. I know most of us all wish we could forget it."

"Like Cye," Robyn reflected. "I know how much he hates to fight. It must have been tough for him. But you also had your armors. So much power to help and protect you so you wouldn't have to be afraid."

Kento's eyes lit up when he realized what she was getting at. All her life she had been running in fear. From her stand point it would have been great to have a strong, mystical armor to scare all her troubles away. But nothing is that easy.

"You didn't think we were scared?" Kento asked.

Robyn blinked at him in confusion. "You won, didn't you? You beat that Talpa guy and your armors helped you do it. You had all the power you needed right there. How--"

She was cut off as Kento shook his head. "There was more to it than just that." So much more. "Not only did we have to fight Talpa, but just to get to him we had to deal with armies of his undead solders. Not to mention his four warlords. One who particularly had it out for me." Kento sat down and rested his back against the railing. Robyn soon joined him, curiosity plastered all over her face as he stared at the blue sky.

"This one was a master of illusion," Kento went on to explain. "He liked playing head games and disguising the truth. I'm not much of a thinker, especially when I'm hyped up for battle. So needless to say, he often confused the hell out of me." Robyn smiled slightly and let him continue.

"The solders were all attacking the city and we got split up trying to fight them and also trying to protect Mia and Yulie; the only two people left in the city that hadn't been captured. Rowen and I met up in the subway but got separated again and when I was all alone, that's when Dais, the Warlord of Illusion, appeared."

Robyn looked dubiously at him. "So, you're scared of this Dais guy?"

"I AM NOT SCARED OF THAT ONE EYED FREAK SHOW AND HIS CHEAP PARLOR TRICKS!" Kento suddenly burst out. "Nor was I then! If he EVER shows his face around here again I'll kick his ass clear across Japan just like I did the last time! Got it?!"

Robyn jumped back, her eyes wide with surprise. The few other people with them on the roof had all stopped and were now staring at the two.

"Heh, heh, sorry," Kento said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I got carried away."

Robyn nodded, still almost in awe. "This guy must have really done or said something to you that you still can't get over."

Kento slumped and looked away guiltily. "When we were alone, he showed me with his illusions our armors and the destruction they could do--or perhaps, what they have done in the past. He showed me my anger and how easily it could turn me into one of them. He said my armor--all our armors were once a part of Talpa. That they were evil; that evil men had once worn them before us and that they would turn us evil, too" Kento was subconsciously clenching his fists until they shook. "I didn't want to be like that! I would kill myself before I'd let myself become like what they were! The guys just thought I was being my stupid self like always. But I couldn't help it. I didn't have the faith in myself like the others did. I couldn't trust myself. It even got to the point that I would refuse to put on my armor; even when Anubis, another of the warlords attacked us. And when the guys yelled at me enough to do it, my armor wouldn't come. All because of my fear."

He looked up when Robyn touched his arm. Her friendly green eyes looked into his, searching for something. When she had first heard the story of their armors escapades, it felt like just that. Another once upon a time. How could they have gone through so much chaos when the city looked fine? And they were the only ones who remembered it. Does anything truly happen if no one remembers it? But the more she heard about it, the more real it became. It had happened. And these five young men were all scarred in one way or another because it had.

"How could you possibly think you could ever be capable of evil when you care so much about it like that?" she asked him.

Kento had to chuckle. "Robyn, if only I had known you back then, I--" He paused as his body suddenly tensed. Someone was watching them.

Cye looked up from his reading as Rowen paced in front of him for what seemed like the hundred billionth time. The bearer of Strata paused only to run his fingers through his hair--another action he did when stressed or worried--then resumed his pacing. Not only was the blue haired young man wearing a hole in the kitchen tile, but it was starting to get on Cye's nerves. Sage was over by the kitchen counter, sitting on the floor. Shoes off and in lotus position, he hadn't moved from that spot for the last hour and Cye didn't want to disturb him. So he sat there and seethed silently, clutching his book tighter and tighter with each round Rowen made. It finally got to the point where Cye was going to make a curt comment when Sage did it for him.

"Rowen, sit down and calm down," the blonde said without even opening an eye. "You're agitating Cye and I can't concentrate with the two of you throwing out such negative energy."

Rowen made a face at him and then plopped down on the seat across from Cye at the kitchen table. He took a deep breath to calm himself as Sage had ordered.

"Man, Robyn's pissed at me right now, isn't she?" he stated out of the blue.

Cye looked up at him. "I've noticed these days there's hardly a time when she isn't," was his retort.

Rowen chose not to take offense to that. "Yeah, I'm always doing the dirty work. She didn't look too happy when I told her she had to stay with Kento instead of going home. I wish Ryo would have been able to go with them."

"Yeah, but he's got to work off his detention hours before graduation or he won't get his diploma," Cye replied. But on the inside his brain was churning. Was that what Rowen had been pacing about? He wasn't impatient with Sage's meditating, but the fact that Kento was the only one with Robyn? Did he think something was going to happen? It seemed very unlikely that if something did happen, Kento wouldn't be able to take care of it on his own--of which Cye was very doubtful anything would happen at all.

"What do you think she'll say when she get's back?" Rowen then wondered.

"Would you two be quiet please?" Sage interjected from the floor. "I'm trying to concentrate here."

"Oh please," Rowen rolled his eyes. "If you haven't found anything by now, then I doubt--"

"I can feel it," Sage interrupted as he got to his feet. Both his teammates turned in their chairs to look at him. "There's a negative energy floating all about this room. I could feel it the second I walked it. But it's just a lingering essence of whatever presence was here last night. I was trying to figure out where it's coming from."

"And?" Rowen pressed.

"And SOMEONE kept ruining my concentration," Sage accused and then turned to Cye. Rowen sulked. "All I know is that it's definitely not from the Dynasty nor any other power we have encountered before. It has a different feel to it. I'm not sure where it came from, but it feels unnatural. As in not of this world."

"So perhaps another world like the Dynasty?" Cye wondered. "Is it possible there are more dimensions out there?"

"If not one, then why not an infinite number of different worlds?" Rowen reflected. "I'm not surprised. The possibilities are endless."

"The question is," Sage stated. "What exactly is it that has come to our world and why? Why here? And what were they after?"

The three ronins turned as the phone hanging on the wall behind them began to ring. A silence fell over them. Cye's mind instantly went back to earlier that afternoon when the three of them confronted Kento to stay with Robyn. Sage had given him his cell phone so they could let them know when they were finished with their investigation. It was also to be used if Kento ran into any trouble. Cye still didn't believe that anything would happen in such a short amount of time. But the phone kept ringing and Cye had a sickening feeling in his gut that on the other line was Kento.


	9. Chapter Nine: Enter the Shadows

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Nine: Enter the Shadows

Ryo dipped the dirty grey mop into the bucket again before wringing it out. He sighed in boredom before continuing his mundane task of mopping the school cafeteria. Two hours. He had only two more hours and then he would be free. Free forever from this horrible slave driving place. This would be the last time he ever mopped this floor. Some other sucker could do it next year. A thought suddenly came to his head and Ryo wondered what Talpa's reaction would have been if he had caught him--the bearer of Wildfire and the one who would defeat him--mopping floors.

_He would be so stunned I would take this mop and beat him down before he ever knew what hit him._ Ryo thought with a silly grin plastered on his face.

"Mr. Sanada, what's so amusing," a gruff voice from the cafeteria door demanded.

"Uh, nothing sir." Ryo's smile instantly disappeared and he continued his task with renewed fervor.

Mr. Kamegaki continued to loom in the doorway. He was an old, bitter man; always stuck with the job of staying after school to supervise the detention. Needless to say, he wasn't too fond of the students. Especially this Sanada punk whom he saw just about every afternoon. What was wrong with kids these days? Always looking for trouble. And that hair! The length may have been all right for a girl but no self respecting young man would ever let it grow that long in his day.

Mr. Kamegaki didn't trust Ryo Sanada any further than he could spit on him. Also, he was quite skeptical of the friends he ran around with. Bad influences they were. Like that Hashiba. Everyone knew who he was, though no one ever saw him at the high school. Too smart for people not to be suspicious. Boys like that were always up to something to occupy their minds and testing limits. Rei Faun was too loud and Mouri had the kind of shifty eyes the aged teacher didn't trust. And Date--Date was just too blonde for his own damn good.

The ornery teacher went on through his usual mental grumbling until something at the window caught his eye. Ryo looked up from his work when he heard a strange, girlish screeching.

"Mr. Kamegaki?" he asked in wonderment.

The old man looked like he was having a panic attack. What was he pointing and screaming at? Over at the window was a huge, white tiger with his paws on the window sill.

"White Blaze!" Ryo dropped his mop and ran to his friend. "It's okay sir, he's mine. He won't hurt you."

But the old man wasn't about to calm down yet. Ryo decided to ignore him as he opened the window. "What is it boy?"

White Blaze let out a growl that sent Mr. Kamegaki into another panic induced frenzy. Ryo was far past caring at this point. White Blaze was telling him that something was wrong and his presence was needed right away.

"Okay, I'm coming," he said as he started crawling out the window.

"SANADA!" Mr. Kamegaki screeched. "Where do you think you're going??"

"I'm sorry sir, I have to go. It's very important!"

"You get back here or it's four more hours detention for you!"

This actually caused Ryo to stop and consider his options. Could he really handle six hours before graduation? He was going to have to. He could feel it now. His friends were in trouble and they needed him.

"Look sir," he said matter of factly. "I know you don't like me, so why would you want to see me four extra hours? I'll be back to finish up the last two, I promise."

Mr. Kamegaki, looking a bit shook up, ran to the window just in time to see the young man and his tiger race away.

"What is it Kento?" Robyn wondered when her companion suddenly jumped to his feet.

All his senses were on full alert as Kento searched his surroundings. Everything looked normal, but his instincts told him differently. He could feel something nearby that shouldn't be there. Then, from somewhere on the roof, a woman screamed. From out of nowhere dropped several dark figures like ninjas onto the roof top. Kento had never seen anything like them before. They looked like they were made out of shadows though it was broad daylight. As many of the tourists fled for the stairs, Kento wondered if he would be able to fight these things. They didn't even look solid. If he threw a punch would his fist connect?

"Holy crap," Robyn breathed as she stood slowly. What were these things and what did they want?

"Stay behind me, Robyn," Kento ordered as he tensed into a fighting stance.

The shadows just stood there momentarily. They seemed to be communicating to each other some how. Then suddenly, one of them rushed Kento and the bearer of Hardrock instantly found out just how solid they were. Robyn gasped when the dark creature charged her friend. The two connected heavily. Kento crossed his arms in front of him to cushion the hit, but the momentum of the collision was so strong it knocked both of them off the building.

"KENTO!" Robyn screamed as he was pushed over the railing.

While the bearer of Hardrock plummeted, the shadow merely dissipated and reappeared back on the roof top. Kento thought that was quite unfair. The fall caused enough shock to his system to call forth his sub armor. Now properly attired for the situation, he had about five seconds before he would have to change his name to Kento of Sidewalk. There were no poles sticking out he could catch onto like in the movies, so Kento had to settle for grabbing the next best thing. He punched forward and gritted his teeth as his metal fingers caught one of the cement ledges and jerked him to a stop.

"'Oh Kento, why don't you like heights?'," Kento mimicked past conversations in a sassy tone. "'There's nothing to worry about up here.' Buch of jerks!"

Unfortunately, he had little complaining time at the moment. Carefully he let himself drop down to the next window ledge below him and then started his way back up, springing off the sides of the buildings around him in the traditional ronin fashion. He reached the top again just in time to see Robyn cornered by the group of shadow creatures.

The young girl was once again thinking this was the end for her. They had killed Kento in front of her eyes and now they were going to splatter her on the sidewalks as well. At least she wasn't going alone this time.

"Hey boys, remember me?" Kento announced as he landed between her and their aggressors.

"Kento!" Robyn cried his name again, now happier than she could ever be that he was still in one piece.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Hardrock continued with a smirk. "Time for round two!"

He threw a punch at the closest shadow, but all his fist did was go through it like it was some harmless mist. A second creature shot at him like a streak of black lightning. This one was solid. And sharp. It left a deep cut across Kento's cheek. The dark haired young man growled as he wiped the blood away with the back of his armored hand. He was getting nowhere and as long as he was failing, Robyn was in danger. It was time to get out of there and meet up with the others. They could do a much better job together than ever he could by himself.

"Jump on my back," he told Robyn as he backed up towards her.

Robyn did what she was told, though hesitantly. "What do you think you're--" She was cut off violently as Kento suddenly jumped off the roof the second her arms were around his neck. All screams of terror were cut off in abject fear as Robyn watched the ground come screaming towards her. Kento was going to kill them both! Why did she always attract the kind of people that seemed to have a death wish?

But the messy end never came as Kento rebounded off the building sides and landed easily on the street several floors below. Robyn was still twitching and clutching onto him for dear life after the threat was over.

"You can let go now Robyn," he told her.

"Oye, between you and Sage I don't think I'll live to see graduation," Robyn whimpered as she slid off him and onto the ground. Her knees gave way and she merely sat on the pavement in a terrified stupor.

"Later Robyn," Kento ordered as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. "We've got to get out of here."

The red haired girl followed him dumbly as she was led down the street. Some of the pedestrians paused to send the couple odd looks but then never gave them another thought. Inside, Kento's mind was reeling. He didn't know what was going on, but he needed the guys' help. He reached for his pocket to retrieve Sage's cell phone only to find he had no pocket. Robyn cried out in surprise when Kento suddenly yanked her around the corner into an alley way.

"Damn sub armor," he muttered as he willed it away. With his jeans returned to him, he could now fish out the desired appliance. He started to dial Cye's number when a dark force rushed into him again and knocked him over, causing the phone to fly out of his hand. Kento struggled underneath the shadowed form which had somehow gotten very heavy. In the corner of his vision he could see Robyn standing there, terrified and not knowing what to do.

"Robyn, go," Kento grunted as he struggled to get free. "Get out of here! I can fight them off!"

The young girl looked torn. She had gone through this before. That time it had almost cost Cye's life. She couldn't stand to go through the same thing with Kento. But on the other hand, how could she possibly help by staying there? Feeling utterly useless, Robyn turned and ran again. Life was so unfair. The only things in the world she had worth living for she couldn't protect.

Kento blinked in confusion when he was able to free a fist and all he managed to punch was air. The shadow on top of him was gone as well as the others. He rolled over and looked to see them all running away. No, not fleeing; pursuing. They were going after Robyn! Why were they after her?

"Shit!" Kento cursed as he jumped to his feet. Fully clad in sub armor again, he swept up Sage's dirty phone and raced after them. "Way to go Kento," he berated himself as he dialed. "Send the one thing they're after off by herself. I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I notice they were after her earlier?"

He continued to run in the direction he hoped Robyn had gone as he listened to the ringing on the phone.

"Kento, what happened?" Cye's voice asked the second he picked up.

"Wow, Cye, how did you know it was me?" Kento marveled.

"Never mind that, why are you calling?"

"See, we were on this roof top and then these shadow things appeared out of nowhere. They pushed me off but I made it back up, but now they're chasing Robyn down the street in broad daylight!"

There was a short pause on the other end.

"Kento, I know you guys are board, but do you really have to--"

"I'm not kidding Cye!!" Kento insisted. "There's like a million people giving me strange looks over here. I'm running down the street in my sub armor with a cell phone to my ear, okay?? Now you guys get your butts down here before something happens to Robyn and someone calls the psychiatric ward on me!"

"Okay Kento, we'll be there as fast as we can! Where are you?"

Kento blinked. "I don't know! I'm just trying to find these guys!"

On the other end, he could just picture Cye about ready to beat the phone over the counter until it shattered and it showed in his voice.

"How are we supposed to find you if you won't tell us where you are?!"

"Look Cye, do you want me to stop and find a street sign or find Robyn?" But before Torrent could release a string of insulting expletives at him: "The courthouse! I just passed the city courthouse; which reminds me, I still need to take care of that speeding ticket I got."

"Which way are you headed?" Now asked Rowen's voice who somehow managed to grab the phone away from Cye's fuming grip.

"Um....north, I think. Or maybe more west. I'm headed towards the middle of town, just come find me!" And with that, Kento hung up before he could be further yelled at for his horrible navigational skills.

He kept Sage's cell phone in his fist as he continued to run. He couldn't see where Robyn or those shadow things had gone at all, nor did he see any evidence they had gone this direction. But he could feel something pulling him this way. He was getting closer to something that was making his armor react. Hopefully, when the others arrived they would feel it and follow in the same direction. For now, that was all he had to go on and he hoped Robyn would stay safe until he could get there--where ever he was headed.

Robyn navigated through the sidewalk crowds as best she could. But it was difficult with so many people about right before rush hour. Even though she was running away from the fight scene, a horrible panicking in her chest kept growing. She took a second to glance behind her and that confirmed her fears. She was being chased. Robyn threw herself down a less used alley so there would be fewer obstacles to dodge. She fled with all the speed she could muster, but she could never loose her pursuers. The creatures followed with uncanny ease and speed. They could pass through anything and move like the air itself.

As Robyn turned down one corner, there were shadow creatures right there to meet her. She screamed and charged down another direction. As this went on a few more times, Robyn began to get a distinct feeling that they were herding her somewhere. Where, she didn't want to find out and purposefully started back tracking in attempts to foil their plans. The shadow monsters never let her get too far with that attempt, but at least she could stall for time. Where was Kento? What happened to him? Was he still fighting the monsters or had they done something to him? Was he looking for her now? The creatures wouldn't let her go back to find out. It was getting to the point where if she didn't go where they wanted her to they would solidify and push her in the desired direction.

Getting tired of this game now, Robyn was just going to walk for a while. She found as long as she was going in the right direction, the creatures would pretty much leave her alone. She couldn't see any at the moment, but she knew they were there. She wasgetting towards the middle of town and there weren't that many people around. The center of Toyama was quite old and run down, unlike the downtown part which was crowded and where all the skyscrapers and stores were. The only people around here were scrubby looking punks and crack heads. Hardly anyone worth asking for help.

In hopes of confusing the stalking creatures, Robyn suddenly started off in a dead run in a different direction. She could feel the surprise of the creatures as she raced away. There was nothing to get in front of her here. She just hoped she could keep up the speed. She ducked into the small, maze like back ways that snaked around the old buildings, hoping to loose them. Thinking she finally had a plan that was working, she glanced behind her to see if anyone was following. In that second, someone suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into the shadows. Robyn struggled as a strong arm held her firmly around the waist and a gloved hand covered her mouth.

"Keep quiet," a male voice whispered to her.

But Robyn was going to do far from that. She was captured by some psychotic pervert who was going to rape her in all kinds of horrible ways and leave her dead in the alley. Not this time! Her mind scrambled to recall the things she had learned during the few training sessions the guys had showed her. She slammed her heel hard on her aggressor's toe and then hammered her elbow into his gut as hard as she could. The attack had the desired affect and the hold on her was loosened. Robyn ripped herself free and prepared to flee again.

"Wait, come back. Robyn," a breathless voice choked after her.

The emotion in the voice caused her to stop. Curious as to who knew her name, she slowly turned around. There hunched on the ground was a figure dressed in a black suit and cape. A shiny top hat lay on the ground a few feet in front of him as he continued to cough and gasp for air. Robyn continued to watch him warily as she picked up the top hat. He had thick black hair falling over his face. When he lifted his head, his eyes were covered by a slanted white mask. The young man moved away slightly as Robyn snatched it off, but he was hardly in a position to fight back.

"Hey, I know you," Robyn accused. "You're that guy from the library. What are you doing out here? Are you lost or something? Why are you dressed like that?"

Tuxedo Mask looked less that satisfied as he painfully pulled himself to his feet and stole back his mask and hat. He indignantly replaced them on his person before speaking.

"I've been following you," he explained. "I've been sensing some dark force around this city the past few days. You seem to some how be connected to it. I was trying to remain in hiding until I figured out what was going on, but when those things were after you I had to show myself."

"Yeah, well I've got news for you, Cape Boy," Robyn responded. "They're STILL after me!"

She pointed behind him at the swarms of shadow creatures that were raining down on them from the roof tops. Tuxedo Mask wasted no time in grabbing Robyn's wrist and running away with her. Robyn only had time to yelp as she was jerked forward before she was off again. This tall young man with his stupid long legs could run quite a bit faster than her. As fast as she tried to make herself go, her arm still felt like it was being pulled out of its socket in order to keep up with her companion. This wasn't fair! If only all these dumb guys realized what a pain it was to be jerked around like this, maybe they would stop doing it to her.

Robyn could feel the angry shadows right on their heels. They had no hope of getting away from these creatures, they were just too fast. One of them solidified itself and, after ricocheting off the ground, bounced up and rammed itself between Tuxedo Mask's shoulder blades. The force of the blow was plenty strong enough to topple the tall young man over at the speed he was going. Robyn gasped when she saw him about to fall on his face. She grabbed his cape in vain attempts to hold him up, but that only succeeded in pulling her down with him. Both cried out in surprise as they were thrown towards the pavement head first.

As they fell, Tuxedo Mask somehow managed to maneuver himself sideways in order to catch his female companion. Robyn could feel strong arms around her beneath the young man's costume. They hit the street at the top of a very steep incline and, naturally, the two started to roll over each other down the hill. As they rolled, they continued to pick up speed until they were nothing but a flash of red and black and a collection of startled cries. The street eventually leveled out again and the rolling human log finally slowed to a stop with Tuxedo Mask on top of Robyn. His arms were still protectively around her and his cape was now tightly wound around them both.

Almost nose to nose, the two blinked at each other. Tuxedo Mask had again lost his mask and hat along the way and now Robyn could see clearly into the depths of his amazing blue eyes. He was as gorgeous as she remembered and she felt her face growing warm.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Robyn replied uncomfortably. He had to see that she was blushing now. Her face must have been bright red. He was right on top of her! Robyn struggled to pull out of his grip but she was tightly bound where she was.

"Oh no," she gasped as she happened to look up.

Tuxedo Mask followed her gaze and immediately wished he hadn't looked. A whole swarm of shadow creatures was raining down on them from above. There was no escaping these things; especially since they were currently tied down.

"We're screwed, aren't we?" Robyn asked, her large green eyes shining with fear.

"Yeah, pretty much," Tuxedo Mask had to admit.

The two closed their eyes and waited for the monsters to land and cut or beat or kill them or whatever else they were going to do.

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"

The sound of a roaring river reached Robyn's ears. Microseconds later she could feel a cold, fresh spray on her face as if she were standing next to a water fall.

"Mercury! You got them!" shouted a familiar feminine voice. Where had Robyn heard it before?

Tuxedo Mask allowed himself a small breath of relief. The cavalry had arrived. Somehow, his friends had found him.

"DARIAN!!!!!"

The young man instantly went stiff again. He recognized that voice completely. He could tell Sailor Moon was mad, not only by her tone of voice but by that fact that she used his real name instead of his alias. As Tuxedo Mask looked to his side, he found that he was wrong in assuming she was mad. Sailor Moon wasn't mad, she was flaming furious!

Robyn blinked at the sideways view she got of the girl in the sailor uniform. It was those long, blonde pig tails that looked familiar, though this costumed girl also looked like her head was about to explode into flames at any second.

"Serena?" Robyn asked, confused why the normally happy girl looked so hostile.

"S-Sailor Moon, I can explain," Tuxedo Mask fumbled.

"You had better! And you!" Sailor Moon pointed a finger at Robyn. "Get away from my man!"

"Your man?" Robyn wondered as she blinked at Tuxedo Mask.

Suddenly, the two both tried to fight their way out of the binding at the same time. But that mischievous cape was wrapped tight and made out of very sturdy material. All they succeeded in doing was end up resembling a spasmodic caterpillar. Sailor Moon had to turn her back as she sat and sizzled while the other Sailor Scouts finally took pity on the frazzled pair and tried to help them untangle themselves.

"Ack! Get off me!" Robyn cried as she squirmed and tried to kick her way free.

"I'm trying! This wasn't my fault!" Tuxedo Mask shot back, trying to protect himself from getting kicked in any sensitive spots.

"Both of you hold still, you're just making it worse," Sailor Venus ordered as she struggled to loosen the tangled up cape.

Sailor Jupiter was on the other side attempting to do the same thing. "Honestly, it's not a big deal. It just happened. Calm down."

The second Tuxedo Mask had his arms free he yanked his cape back to him and hugged it like it was his long lost friend. Robyn was thrown back when the cape was ripped out from under her and dove to hug Sailor Mercury's ankles as if her previous rolling partner was now going jump out and bite her.

"Are you okay?" she heard an unfamiliar male voice asked. Robyn looked around, but all she saw was Mina's white cat looking up at her. What was he doing here? The cat didn't just talk to her, did it? She was going crazy! She whimpered while Sailor Mercury sweat dropped. The water senshi was starting to loose circulation in her feet now.

Tuxedo Mask stood, dusted himself off, and then went to find the rest of his costume before he lost any more of his dignity.

"I'm still mad at you!" Sailor Moon reminded crossly as Tuxedo Mask returned looking more like himself. "We came like you asked, why didn't you try to contact us? And why wouldn't you ever tell us why you came here in the first place? I don't appreciate being left in the dark you know!" She turned her back and crossed her arms as only an irate woman can do.

"Sailor Moon--Serena," Tuxedo Mask said, his voice going quieter as he approached. "I didn't know what to tell you. I wasn't sure what it was or what I was following. All I knew was that I would have needed your help when the time came." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I knew that no matter what you knew or didn't know you would come to help me when I needed it. And you did. I can always trust you."

Sailor Moon grinded her teeth as her shoulders relaxed a little. Oh, he was good. At this rate she would be forgiving him all trespasses in no time. But she was determined not to let him off that easy.

"That's still no excuse! What you did was selfish and inconsiderate! Do you have any idea how much I worried about you!? Do you know how much sleep I lost over this because I thought you were out having an affair or something?! It's going to take a lot more than that to get me to forgive this, buster!"

Tuxedo Mask sighed. He had a feeling it was going to be difficult, but that didn't mean he was ready for it.

Meanwhile, Robyn had finally gathered her wits enough to pull herself to her feet. She looked around at the girls she had enjoyed a slumber party with a few nights ago. The girls she thought she knew. Now they had appeared out of nowhere wearing uniforms Robyn wouldn't be caught dead in. Who possessed her poor friends?

"Lita? Ami?" she asked the two closest scouts. "Why--why are you guys all dressed like that? And what are you doing out here and why do you keep calling yourselves by these weird names? What's going on?"

Sailor Jupiter drew a breath and was about to come up with an explanation when she was interrupted by Sailor Mars.

"Look! Here comes more of those shadow things!"

"Why not?" Robyn whimpered. "This is just icing on the cake that has been my day."

"Don't just stand there, here they come!" Sailor Jupiter ordered as she grabbed her wrist. Robyn mentally sighed as she resumed the roll of the one being dragged behind as the scouts began to flee.

"Sailor Moon, looks like further apologies are going to have to wait until later," Tuxedo Mask announced as he grabbed her hand and started running with the rest of them.

"Okay, but you owe me," the Moon Princess announced.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," her prince replied with a smile.

"There's a lot more of them this time," Sailor Mercury worried as they ran. The shadow creatures loomed behind them like a thick swarm of angry hornets and were coming in fast.

"We can't run from them forever," said the purple cat racing next to her. Artemis was running by her side.

"I'll slow them down!" Sailor Venus announced. She stopped running and turned to face her opponents. "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"

Twin crests of light soared from her fingertips and screamed towards the living shadows. The attack exploded on contact but when the lights faded, the shadows remained; looking even more solid and stronger than before. Sailor Venus promptly wigged out in traditional anime style as she ran to catch up with the group.

"It didn't work!" she cried.

"WAH! Those things are getting closer!" Sailor Moon panicked. "Don't let them touch me!"

"They keep coming down off the roof tops," Sailor Mercury noted as she ran. "They somehow materialize up above us and then drop down to give them the advantage."

"Then we're going to have to take away that advantage," Sailor Mars announced. "To the roof tops everyone!" She led the way in a series of unnaturally high jumps up to the tops of the city buildings. Sailor Venus grabbed Artemis while Sailor Mercury picked up Luna and followed.

"That means you, too," Tuxedo Mask told Robyn as he suddenly hoisted her small body over his shoulder.

"Wuh?" Was the only reply she could come up with at the time.

"I'll give you time to get up there," Sailor Jupiter volunteered. She was the second scout to confront the swarm of shadows. "JUPITER THUNDER CLAP ZAP!"

Robyn watched with wide eyes as countless amounts of electricity shot forth from the tall brunette. She didn't get to see the results of the attack before the ground was suddenly dozens of feet below her as Tuxedo Mask followed the rest of the scouts upwards. Upon reaching their destination, Robyn suddenly realized the true unfairness of the world.

"AM I THE ONLY ONE IN JAPAN WITHOUT SUPER POWERS?!" she demanded.

But the others only ignored her as she continued to hang limply from Tuxedo Mask's shoulder. Everyone had their attention on Sailor Jupiter who was the last one up and seemed to be out of breath.

"It's no good," she said angrily. "My attack didn't work either! They're still coming!"

As if on cue, the shadows suddenly started to materialize on the roof top in front of them.

"Let me try again," Sailor Mercury said. Everyone stood back while Robyn finally managed to squirm away and get back on her own feet.

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"

The same rushing of water happened as before. And also as before, as soon as the water attack hit the shadow creatures, they dissolved.

"Wow Sailor Mercury, you're my hero!" Sailor Moon cheered.

"I don't get it," Sailor Jupiter argued. "Why does Mercury's attack work, but not Venus' or mine?"

"Good question," Luna piped up. "It might have something to with the elements of the attack. Sailor Mercury's is water while the other two have to do with light and electricity."

"Yes, that may be it," Sailor Mercury replied. "But why? Why doesn't the light hurt the shadows? It's doesn't make sense."

"I wonder if my attack would also have the same affect," Sailor Mars wondered out loud.

The group was so busy being perplexed, they hardly noticed that a thick mist was rising up as a direct result of Sailor Mercury's attack. Except Robyn of course; she was too dumbstruck and confused to be perplexed. The fog grew thicker and thicker until it was very much reminiscent of that encountered in Tokyo two weeks previous.

"What was that?" Sailor Venus suddenly spoke.

"What was what?" asked Sailor Mercury.

"I thought I heard something. Like an animal."

Everyone fell quiet as they searched the ever growing fog. A roar resounded in the distance.

"Ah! It's going to come get us!!" Sailor Moon cried as she and Sailor Venus hugged each other and started shaking in fear.

"Is it another monster?" Tuxedo Mask wondered.

"Don't worry guys, whatever it is, we can take it if we stick together," Sailor Jupiter encouraged.

"Right," Sailor Mars agreed as Mercury nodded. "There hasn't been a villain yet able to defeat us."

But that didn't mean that this one would be the same. That was what Sailor Moon and Venus thought as they continued to hug and tremble. The roar came again, only this time louder and closer. Robyn blinked as realization hit her.

"Wait, I know that sound," she announced. She ran towards it as far as the roof top permitted. "It's--"

A large, white beast flew out of the fog and landed next to her. Even the more courageous scouts cried out when the massive animal appeared.

"White Blaze!" Robyn squealed with elation. She knelt down and hugged the tiger around the neck, burying her face in his furry chest. "I'm so glad to see you, boy." White Blaze sniffed and nuzzled her back, making sure the young girl was not wounded and had been okay without his protection. "You're my hero, my handsome kitty."

"Hey, I came looking for you, too," insisted a male voice slightly laced with jealousy.

Robyn looked up at the young man fully clad in white and red sub armor.

"Ryo!" She jumped up and hugged the startled ronin around the neck. "Thank you for coming to find me."

Not used to such a greeting or so close physical contact, Ryo stumbled back a bit before catching himself. White Blaze looked on, almost amused as a pink hue burned its way on the young man's cheeks.

"Um....no problem." Ryo fumbled.

"Woa, that is a seriously big kitty," Sailor Moon commented.

"I just hope he doesn't have a taste for house cats," Artemis gulped as he hid behind Sailor Jupiter.

Robyn pulled back from the embrace though her hands still stayed on Ryo's shoulders.

"I can't believe this. How did you know to come looking for me?"

"White Blaze came and got me," Ryo smiled as he patted the large feline's head. "He knew something was wrong. It always takes me a little bit longer to realize things like that."

"Well your timing was perfect, as always," Robyn laughed back.

Across the way, the Sailor Scouts were looking on the scene; almost jealously.

"I wish I had a guy that would always come find me," Sailor Venus sighed. "It's not fair."

"Yeah," Sailor Jupiter lamented.

"I had to go hunt down mine myself," Sailor Moon humphed indignantly while Tuxedo Mask slumped his shoulders.

"Oh good grief," Luna sighed. It didn't take much to divert this group's attention.

A long, bright stream of lightning split the sky followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Then, the city fell dark as if it were the dead of night. Ryo instantly crouched in a ready position with a growling White Blaze at his side. This was no ordinary darkness; it didn't feel as merely an absence of light. It felt more like a thick, blanket of black choking out and smothering the light that used to be there.

"Oh my, it's so dark I can barely see," said Sailor Mercury. "How did this happen? And so quickly?"

"WAH! Where'd everyone go?" Sailor Moon wailed as she wandered around in the dark.

"Hey! Watch where you're putting your hands!" came Sailor Jupiter's reply.

Robyn could sense something to the darkness. A presence that felt familiar. But what? As she tried to assess it, a pair of hands extended from the shadows and clamped themselves over her mouth, pulling her in. Her cries came out as merely muffled sound as she was swallowed up in the darkness.

"Robyn?" Ryo wondered. When he heard nothing he spun around. "Robyn, where are you? Robyn!"

White Blaze roared his fury. Something wasn't right.

"What happened over there?" Sailor Venus wondered as she bumped into Sailor Mars.

"Hey, watch where you're going you--" the fire senshi was cut off as crimson lightning lit up the sky. From it descended a woman in an inky black dress. Her long, black hair matched the hue of her gown and both faded into the darkness of the false night. Her eyes as well were dark pools void of emotion while her skin was a pale, almost sickly, white as if it had never seen the sun. Her face was that of a woman, but it held a presence almost animalistic in nature that was unsettling. In her bony, long nailed clutches struggled a red haired young girl.

"Robyn!" Ryo cried again.

Two of the woman's hands were wrapped around Robyn's waist while a third held her shoulders and even a fourth covered her mouth. Still, another pair of hands were free to do other things as needed. That made three pairs of hands in all, giving this new foe an even more inhuman quality.

White Blaze roared and sprang after the floating figure, but he was met with an energy barrier that stopped the beast in mid air. The tiger fell back down to the roof looking a bit stunned.

"White Blaze!" Ryo cried as his blood boiled. "You let her go right now!"

The black clad woman-like creature looked less than pleased. "You pathetic insect! I have no more time to waist on any of you, so I come here myself! I am the Lady Ebony, Mistress of the Out World. Remember this name, all of you, for I will soon be ruler of this world as well! When I am finished, your planet will be plunged into this darkness forever and I will--AHHH!"

The Dark Mistress screamed a hideous sound as a golden arrow whizzed by and grazed her arm.

"That was a warning shot lady!" came a voice from above. Rowen stood atop a higher building, clad in full armor and poised with another arrow. "You let her go now or next time I won't miss!"

"Neither will the rest of us!" came another voice. On a different roof top about the same height as Ryo's were Kento, Cye, and Sage, also decked out completely for battle.

Lady Ebony just smiled as she turned to face the archer. "Go ahead, try and kill me--if you think you can do it without hurting your little friend."

Rowen gritted his teeth, holding the arrow tightly against the taunt string. He knew he couldn't miss if that six armed creature held still, but he had no guarantee she couldn't move Robyn in the way when he let the arrow fly.

The Mistress of her Out World chuckled deep in her throat. "What's the matter warrior? Why do you hesitate? Isn't this one important to you?"

Robyn helplessly watched with wide eyes as Lady Ebony slowly ran a long fingernail down the side of her neck to the collarbone, causing a small line of blood to appear. Robyn's cries were muffled by the hand covering her mouth as she struggled to break free. And even though one could hardly hear her protests, her disgust was clear as a toadish tongue snaked out of the woman's mouth to lap up the trail of blood.

"That bitch!" Kento spat, quivering with barely checked rage. He raised his staff, ready to strike. "I've seen just about enough of this! I'm gonna--"

"No Kento!" Cye warned, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You can't attack her like that while she's got Robyn. You'll hit her, too. We've got to find a way to get her away from that thing."

Kento lowered his weapon and clutched his trembling fists at his side. Just because Cye was right didn't mean that he liked it. Next to him he heard a snap and glanced over at Sage. The Warrior of Light had a hard look on his face but no other body language gave away what he was feeling. His no-datchi, however, was snapping and crackling with energy. That was all that was needed to say he didn't like the situation either.

"This is horrible! We have to do something!" Sailor Mars called to her friends. They, too were looking onto the terrible scene with a growing sense of anger and helplessness as Lady Ebony dug her nails further into her victim.

"WAIT!" Ryo's voice cut through the darkness. "Stop! We surrender, if that's what you want. We'll all give up if you'll let her go."

Ryo looked across the other rooftop for support. The three Ronins there nodded their agreement with his decision. Up above them all, Rowen slowly lowered his bow. Robyn shook her head vigorously and did her best to tell them not to do it, but they had all clearly made their choice. The team of scouts behind them just blinked in confusion. They were all giving themselves up to save her?

Lady Ebony just laughed at the submissive warriors. "You think it was you--any of you I was after? Oh please! Don't give yourselves so much credit! What I've come for I already have right here!"

Everyone was floored by that statement. She wanted Robyn? Just that one, young girl out of all the people on the planet? Why? What purpose could she possibly have for her?

Ryo gave out a growl similar to his furry companion. "Fine. Then prepare for a fight! ARMOR OF WILDFIRE! DAO JIN!"

The Sailor Scouts looked on in awe as light and cherry blossoms surrounded the fiery young man. When they had cleared, Ryo of the Wildfire was adorned in bright red armor. He expertly drew out his twin blades and brandished them before his enemy.

"Woo hoo!" Kento cheered. "Now get ready for a fight, lady!"

"From us as well!" hollered another voice from above.

From yet another roof top, the darkness moved away to reveal two more older female scouts standing back to back.

"You have finally chosen to show yourself, Mistress of the Darkness. But we will not allow you to do to our world what you have done to your own. I am Sailor Uranus and I will defend this planet in the name of Uranus."

"We know who you are and your plan and we have come to stop you. In the name of Neptune you will not win. I am Sailor Neptune."

Cye, Kento, and Sage all blinked in unison at the two women above them. Kento scratched the side of his helmet with the blade of his staff in confusion. "What is all this? When are we going to fight this witch?"

"If it's a battle you want," Lady Ebony boomed. "Than a battle you shall have!" Her free pair of hands rose above her head. "My shadow demons! Come forth and attack!"

On that command, hundreds of thousands of the same shadow creatures appeared in the sky. They filled and choked the air like a dark cloud or, even worse, an angry swarm.

"Oh great, these guys again," Kento moaned.

"THEY'RE MINE!" Sage suddenly screamed. Cye and Kento had to dive on their stomachs or risk being decapitated by the long sword he swung.

"AHHHH, THUNDER BOLT CUT!!!"

A great arc of intense light burned through the darkness. It slashed the sky and through the dark army in a wide radius over the city.

"Get down!" Tuxedo Mask ordered as he grabbed Sailor Moon and Venus, the two closest girls to him, and pulled them down with him. The rest of the team ducked as well and held onto the roof top as the back lash the of powerful attack washed over them.

"I don't believe it," Sailor Jupiter marveled as she got to her knees. "That lightning attack was far stronger than mine. How can these guys have so much power?"

Tuxedo Mask narrowed his eyes at the notion. That was a good question. Just who were these young men and where did they come from? What gave them the authority to be here and protect this world as well?

"Well it couldn't be that strong," Sailor Mars huffed as she fixed her hair. "Because all the shadow demons are still there."

"It--it's like he didn't even touch them!" Cye exclaimed as he looked around. The creatures now in fact looked stronger and more solid because of the attack.

Sage was frozen to his spot. With all the energy he had poured into his attack, how could it not have worked?

"Of course!" Rowen slapped a metal plated hand to the forehead of his helmet. He jumped down to the roof where Ryo and the Scouts were as he called to his friend. "Sage, it makes perfect sense! It's common science. Stronger light makes stronger shadows. They can't be beaten that way."

"Of course," Sailor Mercury echoed. "That does make sense."

"See? That's probably why he got the highest score on that test," Sailor Venus chided to which her friend glared.

"Enough of this!" Lady Ebony screeched. "ATTACK!"

The army of shadows instantly descended on their new targets and an all out war broke out. On the highest roof top, Sailor Uranus and Neptune were doing their best to fight off the few shadows attacking them though most had aimed for the largest group. Every time Sailor Uranus would throw a punch or a kick, it would just go through the creatures and she would suffer a solid hit in return. Her partner was doing even worse. There was no way they could fight them like this.

"It's like trying to fight air," Sage growled as he sliced again and again at his attackers without hitting any. His blade would always go right through. It was really throwing the warrior off; swinging forever without meeting any opposition. He wasn't used to this kind of situation and it made him wonder how long they could last.

"Tell me about it," Kento grunted. "I had to deal with these things earlier today, too!"

"Let's meet up with Ryo and Rowen and hopefully we can come up with a plan," Cye suggested. He swung his yari in a wide arc in front of him to clear a path. Then he dashed over to the edge of the building and jumped to the next roof.

Sage followed right after with Kento at his heels. But the bearer of Hardrock wasn't as lucky as his two friends. Before he could make it over to the other side, a shadow demon solidified and knocked into him, causing him to miss his target.

"Kento!" Cye and Sage cried together as they saw their comrade fall. They both ran to the edged of the building and looked down only to see Kento hanging from his staff which was stabbed stubbornly into the brick and cement.

"If I fall off one more building tonight, I swear..." Kento growled as his friends pulled him up.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Scouts were having a far worse time than the Ronins. Without any weapons of their own, they were left with no way to fight but hand to hand combat and it wasn't proving to be the best tactic for this situation. They all stood in a circle with their backs facing in to fend off the shadows. But it hardly worked. Any kick or punch thrown at the creatures merely passed right through while the shadows landed several blows of their own.

Sailor Mercury was considerably unlucky when one shadow demon ran into her, causing her to stumble backwards. The blue haired girl lost her footing and fell, hitting the back of her head on the edge of the roof top.

"Sailor Mercury!" Jupiter cried as she ran to her aid.

"Mercury!" Sailor Moon cried as well. But before she could do the same, another shadow monster came up fast and charged her tumbling and screaming form over the other side of the building.

"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask called in horror.

"Sailor Moon!" the rest of the Scouts cried.

"Rowen!" Ryo ordered.

The bearer of Strata was already diving head first off the building after her. The ground rushed up to greet them both. Sailor Moon was still screaming and flailing around up to the last second when Rowen grabbed her before she smashed into the sidewalk. It took a few moments for the young Moon Princess to realize she wasn't going to die as she remained clinging and whimpering to Rowen's shoulders. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked around at her savior and the large bubble that encased them.

"Don't worry, I got you," Rowen smiled as he started floated back up to where the others were.

"Great," Sailor Moon muttered. "I've been saved by a Superman wanna be."

Rowen smirked at her. "I could let you go if you want."

To this, Sailor Moon immediately sweat dropped. "No! That's okay," she said sheepishly.

Upon their arrival back to the rooftop, their eyes met with the same battle scene they had left.

"Sailor Moon, you're okay," Sailor Venus managed to shout between attacks from the shadow demons.

"That's right!" Sailor Moon announced as she jumped out of Rowen's arms. Her usual enthusiasm had now recovered from the fall. "And now we're going to beat these creeps good!"

"I'd like to know how she plans on doing that," Sage muttered as he continued to slash around and hit nothing. "These things are practically invincible!"

Sailor Jupiter, who was near by still nursing a passed out Mercury, heard the complaint.

"Water!" she announced. "Their weakness is water!"

"A lot of good that's going to do us with Sailor Mercury out cold," Sailor Mars pointed out.

"If it's water you need," Cye announced as he marched to the middle off the roof. "Then I can handle it!"

"I'll help!" Sailor Neptune announced as she ran to join him. Cye nodded and smiled. He could sense similar elements within this young woman and he could use all the help he could get.

"Everyone, prepare to duck and cover!" Sailor Uranus ordered.

Simultaneously, the two water warriors stood back to back and began their attack.

"SUPER..."

"NEPTUNE..."

"WAVE..."

"DEEP..."

"SMASHER!!!!"

"SUBMERGE!!!"

Everyone on the roof fell flat on their stomachs and held on tight as the two sure kills surged over their heads. The water-type energy spread out in a wide circle, reaching to every dark foe. The army of shadows screamed inhuman sounds as they were dissolved on contact. The two warriors were panting as the energy cleared and not a demon was left in site.

Ryo was the first one to jump back to his feet.

"Now it's your turn!" he vowed, pointing one of his magical swords at Lady Ebony.

The six armed woman glared daggers at the defiant young man.

"You may have found a weakness to my shadow demons, but you will not reach me in time to stop me!" She stretched forth a clawed hand and circled it wide in front of her. As she did so, the wind began to pick up. Faster and faster, it gained in momentum and strength at an alarming rate.

"What is she trying to do?" Sailor Mars demanded.

"Stick together everyone," Tuxedo Mask ordered as Sailor Moon held onto him with one arm and Luna with the other. The wind was getting so strong, they all were having to fight just to stand.

"Uh oh, this feels familiar," Kento grunted.

"Looks like our new lady friend is going to take us all for a little ride," Rowen called over the wind.

Ryo just growled as he realized what was happening. This was not going very well.

The wind howled and swirled around until it was a dizzying, spinning funnel on the roof top. All those present cried out as they were swept up into the whirling mass and spun around until each didn't know what was right or left or up nor down. The different groups were swirled and mixed until there was nothing but a blur of colors in the middle of it all.

"Now, be gone from my site!" Lady Ebony ordered.

The wind funnel tightened with its victims still inside; then it suddenly exploded. Different bodies of light were hurled in all directions of the city. From her place in the evil woman's clutches, Robyn watched in silent horror as a tear fell down her cheek. She closed her eyes in defeat. What would become of her friends now? She would never see them again.

Lady Ebony chuckled to herself. That surely would keep them out of her hair long enough to complete her plan. She would have killed them all if she could, but her powers weren't strong enough--yet. With one last evil laugh, she and her captive disappeared into the darkness without a trace.


	10. Chapter Ten: Warriors Divided

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Ten: Warriors Divided

Robyn couldn't understand what was happening to her. She felt, in some odd way, separated from her body. She could feel it; she knew it was there. But it felt numb and constricted somehow. Her muscles would not react no matter how she tried to make them move. Where ever she was, she was physically confined to that spot.

It wasn't necessarily her body she was worried about, however. It was her head. Something was lurking inside it. She could feel it in there slithering in the darkness of her subconscious like a wriggling maggot. It sat there and ate away at her mental barrier. The wall she had placed there to lock away all the bad memories so that life could somehow be livable again.

Panic filled her heart as she felt that mental wall eroding away. Things were coming apart faster now. Robyn could feel a presence reaching in, freeing and pulling out past memories once forgotten. Robyn's soul was sent reeling as the pain, the torment, the hurt, the fear all came back to her in a flash flood. It washed over her in a relentless wave. Every bad memory; every kind of pain ever felt was replayed to her all at once.

No matter how she tried to block out the images and the awful sensations, that same presence kept shoving them forward, forcing her to experience it all over and over again. The same thing that was forcing images of the past on her was, at the same time, sucking the life energy out of her. It was an endless, nightmarish cycle to which she could not escape. She was trapped in some horrible place which drifted in and out of existence. There, she would surely die for no one would ever be able to find her.

Katara, the youngest of the two cat sisters stared curiously at their new victim. The young red haired girl that had been captured did not stare back. Instead, her eyes were closed tightly, almost painfully in a permanent grimace. Sweat ran down Robyn's face as she seemed to be unaware of those watching her and, instead, was preoccupied with some kind of inward struggle. Her body, by now, was mostly engulfed in the large, black crystal that protruded in the middle of Lady Ebony's throne room. Only her head and shoulders were free, but were slowly sinking into the inky blackness like the rest of her.

"It's so hard to believe," Katara voiced her thoughts out loud as she shook her pink, bushy hair. "That this one little human girl is going to do it all. Are you sure the energy gathered from just this one will be enough?"

"Yes," Lady Ebony assured her follower as she came up from the darkness. Two pairs of arms were folded while one of her free hands stroked the large, dark crystal. "I have waited many mortal lifetimes for one such as her to appear. Destiny has given this one a crooked fate. One that seems to almost bend the rules of mortals." She stretched out a clawed hand and ran her fingers through Robyn's thin, red hair.

"So?" Katana, the older sister, spoke up. "What makes her so special? Are you saying she is beyond mortals somehow? Is she an immortal like yourself?"

Lady Ebony continued to stare at her prize. "No. She is mortal. Perhaps one day she could have reached some level of immortality. But she will not live to see that day now. However, she is still different, for man is born to choose either good or evil in his heart. He cannot be both. Even if he performs actions that contradict the feelings in his heart, it will still be one or the other. But this one, though her heart is good, a dark river runs through her soul. Blackness is just a much a part of her as light. Like two sides of the same coin, she cannot be whole without one or the other.

"The power of a pure heart is great. But to have darkness run naturally through the same body without destroying that heart will cause a power almost immeasurable! And yet..." The Mistress of Darkness paused as an idea struck her. She squinted at her captive and raised a hand over her head as if trying to see something that had escaped her powers of vision. "For Fate to go to so much trouble to create such a being, I wonder if this one was ultimately meant for another purpose. Perhaps.....even something more sinister...."

The Amazon Duo looked at each other as their Lady seemed to have fallen into a trance. Just as they were about to wake her, Lady Ebony snapped back to the present. Her actions now far more urgent.

"Quickly, you two," she ordered. "Get out there and make sure none of those fighters reach this place. Kill as many of them as you can. When my powers are fully restored I can take care the rest. But they cannot interfere before that time."

"Yes my Lady," the cat sisters said in unison as they bowed. The duo then disappeared into the darkness to carry on their task.

With her minions now gone, Lady Ebony once again turned back to the small, encased body. The black crystal had swallowed Robyn up to her neck. It wouldn't be long now.

"Well, young one," she spoke to her captive. "They say fate is a double edged sword. It knows all our futures and what we will do; therefore, it decrees it is what we are meant to do. But when aware of it, can one become powerful enough to change one's fate? To do what one was not meant to do is to prove fate wrong and change all futures. But then again, will fate see that, too and know that the change was really our true destiny? Who has more power? The divine power that guides the life to its inevitable end, or the one who owns the life and steers it according to the destinations set by the hearts and minds of man?" She stroked the red head's pale, sweaty cheek. "We shall see."

Tuxedo Mask painfully pulled himself to his feet. His suit was tattered and he was cut and bruised all over. He remembered the whirl wind they had all been sucked into and how it had whipped and flung them all about. He had tried his best to hang onto his Moon Princess, but the unforgiving winds had torn her from his arms and threw her in a different direction. Where ever Sailor Moon was now, he hoped she was okay and was able to find some of the others. The Scouts always knew how to look after each other and Tuxedo Mask knew they would be safe if they were together. So all he had to do was find them. But, boy, did his body ache. He felt like he had collided with at least fifteen different buildings before he finally hit the cement. It took all his powers just to keep him from hitting the street without dieing.

The tall young man stumbled forward, almost blindly in his best attempts to march forward and find his friends. He didn't get far before he almost stumbled into a large crater in the street. Whatever made that had to have been big. Tuxedo Mask was having a hard time trying to concentrate with that horrible buzzing in his hears. Perhaps he hit his head more times than he thought. He wiped his sweaty brow with a white glove only to see it smeared with red. Boy, he really did hit his head.

Heavy grunting caught his attention as something climbed out of the crater he stood by. Something orange.

"Oh man, what a ride," Kento said as he crawled out and looked at the large hole where he had landed. He turned around when he heard sputtering behind him.

"You--you made that crater?" Tuxedo Mask asked incredulously.

"Yeah, and what of it?" Kento retorted as he looked the taller man up and down. He looked like some crazed fruit cake who got separated from his drama team or something.

"Well I--I mean, are you okay?"

Kento blinked at the question and then thought about it. He rolled his shoulders a few times and then popped his neck and checked his elbows to see if they bended properly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've been hit a lot harder than that, you know."

That was about all the poor ragtag young man could take and he promptly fainted from both disbelief and head injuries.

Kento raised a bushy eyebrow at the prone figure on the ground. This was so not his day.

Rowen opened his eyes slowly, his vision proving to be a little blurry as he tried to focus. He had used Strata's power to protect him from the impact, but he still felt it pretty hard despite. Maybe he should go back to sleep for another hour or two and maybe he would feel better then.

"Hey, are you okay?" a deep, male voice asked.

Rowen opened his eyes again to see two large, blue eyes looking back at him. Below those was a little, black nose and they were surrounded by white fur and...whiskers?

"A.....cat....?" Rowen rasped weakly.

"Are you going to be alright?" the cat asked again.

Rowen's eyes suddenly bugged out as he sat up and scooted away, brushing Artemis off his chest like he was a giant spider.

"AHH! TALKING CAT!" He backed away until the side of a building prevented him from fleeing any further. There he sat, wide eyed and panting insanely as if he had just ran the city in less than a minute.

"Go away talking cat!" he cried in a panicked voice. He reached up to his helmet and then frantically felt his face. "This can't be! I must be hallucinating! I hit my head too hard! Or worse....OH NO! I'M DEAD! I'VE DIED AND GONE TO TALKING CAT HELL!!!"

Artemis growled; he had just about all he could stand of the Ronin's inane whining.

"SHUT UP!" he spat at Rowen.

The bearer of Strata was instantly silenced.

"What kind of hero are you?" the white cat demanded, his tail bristling. "Maybe Mars is right about you! I thought you would be some help, but you're just some ninny in fancy armor. You probably don't even know how to use it. I guess I'll just save Robyn myself!"

Rowen blinked momentarily at Artemis' retreating backside. Then he jumped to his feet.

"YOU'RE going to save Robyn?!" he demanded. "You're just a talking cat! What do you think you can--HEY! Get back here, I'm talking to you!" Rowen picked up his discarded, dusty bow and quickly ran after his new companion. "If anyone's going to save anyone it's going to be me, not you!"

"You're just a big baby," Artemis shot back, not even bothering to look up. "You couldn't rescue a paper bag from getting wet on a sunny day!" He started off running.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rowen barked as he chased after the cat. "We'll see how much a hero YOU are when I pop those whiskers off your stupid face!"

A small sparrow landed on nearby street sign and cocked its head at the odd, arguing couple as they ran off. The little bird was far more confused with its environment then the young man in armor and his talking, insulting cat. The sun had disappeared far before it should. Like it had suddenly decided to run away and never come back. The city it lived in was also unusually quiet. Dead, silent, empty. Where had all the people gone that left delicious things on the ground for him to peck at? Where were the other sparrows? The small bird was ready to flitter away when it, too, disappeared. The surroundings as well started to slowly melt away into blackness.

Luna was shook awake by an unusual rythem. As her eyes slowly opened she had the sensation that she was dangling. She swayed back and forth lightly once and then was swung a bit more abruptly the second time. Her limp, hanging body continued to swing in that pattern. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs and then looked up to see who was carrying her by the back of her neck. The first thing she saw were sharp fangs connected to the large jaw of a massive white tiger.

Luna gave a cat like scream when she saw him and immediately started fighting and clawing the air. She twisted loose and took off the second her paws hit the ground. The small, dark cat took sanctuary beneath the nearest car and hid behind the front tire, her heart beating wildly. She watched with wide, scared eyes as the tiger just stood there.

For a moment, the two just stared at each other. Two animals from two completely different worlds. Luna couldn't help but stare into the deep brown eyes of the ancient beast. Even though he couldn't talk, she could feel a profound intelligence within those burning eyes.

White Blaze gave a small whine to the little cat. She didn't move. He took a step and then stopped to lick at the cut bleeding down the side of his leg.

_The poor thing's hurt_, Luna thought to herself. _And still he carried me with him. I don't think he wants to hurt me. Do I dare go with him?_

White Blaze looked up from licking his wounds. Luna still wasn't budging from her spot.

The large tiger couldn't wait any more. He had a friend to save and time was ticking against them all.

Luna poked her head out of her hiding place when the larger feline started to move on. Carefully, she followed after him. After a few paces, White Blaze stopped and glanced back. Luna froze and crouched on the ground, ready to run if the tiger suddenly turned on her. But the aged beast seemed to almost smile and gave an encouraging purr before trotting off to the place he had first been separated from his master. Luna, after taking a few more moments to decide a course of action, finally bounded after him in hopes that where ever his warriors were, her scouts would be also.

Poke. Poke. Poke, poke.

"Mina! For crying out loud! Quit poking him with that stick! He's not a bug!"

Sailor Venus looked up when Sailor Mars yelled at her. Then she looked back down at the prone figure she was crouched next to and poked him again in the cheek. The young man didn't move, didn't twitch a muscle. His wild, brown hair swayed easily in the breeze as his helmet seemed to have been lost when he hit his head. A trail of dried, sticky blood ran from his temple down to puddle under the collar of his armor.

"Do you think he's dead?" Venus wondered and poked him again. This time harder in his light blue chest plate.

"We would only be so lucky," Sailor Mars grouched as she leaned against the side of a building. "Come on, we should go find the others."

"And just leave him here?"

"Yes leave him here!" Mars shot back. "He would leave us!"

"You don't know that!" Sailor Venus argued. "All this time you've been telling us how bad these guys are, but I haven't seen them do anything evil."

"Oh yeah? What about at the apartment when they broke that window and they hurt Robyn? What about when they killed that poor creature? Is that not evil to you Venus?" Sailor Mars clutched her fists so hard they were shaking.

Venus' gaze faltered at her friend's stern expression.

"Yes, but that was different somehow. I don't--"

"I don't believe this!" Sailor Mars cried. "How can you be on their side? How can you--OH!"

Sailor Venus watched Mars storm off to cool down a bit. She returned her gaze back down to the unconscious young man. She wanted to help him. His face didn't seem like that of a murderer's. In fact, she still thought she was quite handsome. Ever since the first day she saw him at the ice cream shop. With those amazing green eyes of his. They were mesmerizing. Sailor Venus reached out and brushed away some hair out of his eyes. If only she could trust him....

"Sailor Mars!" Venus gasped as the young man's forehead started glowing. She squinted in the light to see a character beneath the swaying brown hair.

"Trust?"

"What is it now?" Mars demanded as she stomped back.

"Look Mars! Look at the--" She turned away for just a moment and then it was gone.

"What?"

Sailor Venus blinked in complete bafflement. "On his forehead. I saw something glowing."

"Right," Mars replied. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head, too? Come on, let's go find the others."

Sailor Venus remained where she was as Sailor Mars started once again for the center of the city. She looked at the water warrior again. She didn't imagine that, she had really seen the glowing kanji on his forehead....didn't she? Maybe she really was seeing things.

"SAILOR VENUS!"

She jumped to her feet when her name was called. Mars didn't sound mad, this time the tone was urgent. Venus looked over to see Mars pinned down by a group of the same shadow demons they were fighting earlier.

"Sailor Mars!" Venus cried, about to run to her friend's aid.

"Watch out!" Mars warned back.

Sailor Venus looked up in time to see her own group of shadow monsters raining on her from above. They screamed towards her, taking the shape of black arrows with the intent to pierce her heart. Her breath froze in her throat. There was no time to get away.

Something grabbed her and pulled her down. In an instant she was on her back with a large, solid bulk on top of her. Sailor Venus could only watch in awe with Cye's face merely inches from hers. He gritted his teeth as he used his back as a shield. They hit hard, but they could not pierce the mystical armor he wore.

"Alright, now it's my turn!" Cye announced as he got to his feet. He reached behind him to the staff anchored to his back and pulled it out. Upon seeing the weapon, the shadows ceased their attack and the sounds they made sounded almost like large, frightened mice. They knew now what this warrior could do to them.

"SUPEEER WAAAAAVE SMASHER!"

The two scouts ran for cover as Cye sprayed his sure kill left and right, catching every demon with his wave of power.

When it was over, Cye of the Torrent stood in a triumphant stance, all his foes being defeated. A mere second later he collapsed heavily onto his staff. The two scouts inched towards the wounded, wobbling warrior. He blinked at them weakly, blood running into his eye.

"Robyn...." he coughed weakly. "I have to--have to....save her...."

With that, he finally fell to the ground. Sailor Venus rushed to his side while Sailor Mars took her time. The two girls knelt on either side of him and looked at the fallen warrior. Then Venus looked up at her friend with hopeful eyes.

"Oh, alright," Mars agreed. "We'll bring him along."

Venus smiled her thanks. Victory.

Ryo grunted as he climbed a pile of ruble. He stood atop the mound of bricks and beams and surveyed the scene. The city looked so dark. He couldn't even see past the limits. There were no lights, no nothing. The entire city surrounding them was swallowed in a smothering blackness. Was it his imagination, or was the blackness slowly moving inward? And where were all the people? How did the city get so empty and quiet all of a sudden?

The fiery youth listened to the stillness of his surroundings. Where were his friends? Where they okay? The city felt completely deserted. Ryo put two fingers to his lips and whistled shrilly. More silence. Not even White Blaze seemed to be out there. He was all alone.

"How much further do we have to go? I'm getting tired and my feet hurt."

Well, almost alone.

Ryo looked down to see a girl in a sailor suit and long, blonde pigtails sitting on a pile of beams. How could he forget about her? She had been complaining since they first started out and it didn't look like she was about to stop now as she rubbed her feet and whimpered. Ryo was starting to be almost sorry he had saved her.

When the group of them had all been caught up in the whirl wind, Sailor Moon was the only one he had been able to get a hold of amidst all the chaos. The two had held onto each other as they were thrown far out into the city. Now they were making the lengthy journey back to where they had been. The trek, while slow on foot, was even slower with them having to stop every five minutes for Sailor Moon to adjust her bright red boots.

"Come on, it's not much further now," Ryo forced himself to be optimistic as he slid down the pile and approached her.

"We're never going to get there," Sailor Moon whined, almost in tears. "We failed! It's all over! WAH!"

"Don't say that," Ryo pleaded. "Come on, we're getting close. Maybe some of your friends are already there. Maybe even--"

"Darien!" Sailor Moon suddenly perked up. "Maybe Darien's already there waiting for me! I'm coming lover boy!"

Ryo was nearly ran over as the fickle young blonde jumped to her feet and took off.

"Come on you slow poke, time's a wasting!" she called from around the corner.

Ryo sighed as he followed. He hoped they would get there soon. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

Sailor Uranus eyed Sailor Jupiter and the young man in the green armor suspiciously. Sailor Jupiter kept a skeptical eye on Sailor Uranus and an even more wary eye on the sword the green clad warrior was holding. Sage looked at both women, feeling very much outnumbered. It was just like being back at home. The three of them had been like that ever since they had found themselves together after the fight. Neither one of them was about to turn their backs on the others.

"Look, we're not getting anywhere by being suspicious of each other," Sailor Uranus finally announced. "We may be all on different sides, but we have one thing in common right now. We all want to get Lady Ebony out of our world before she destroys it. Can we all agree on that?"

"I agree," Jupiter relented while Sage nodded his head.

"Right," Uranus smiled, feeling the progress. "I say we all move back to where the fight began. The city is already starting to be transformed into her black world. That will probably be the last place to be converted and I'm sure we'll find her there. The others will most likely be moving back as well."

Sage nodded again and lifted his no-datchi. The two females watched him as he put away his weapon.

"Since we'll be together for a while, introductions are in order," he announced. "My name is Sage," he said with a bow.

"I'm Sailor Ju---"

She cut herself off when Sage raised a confused eyebrow at her.

"Lita, my name is Lita," the brunette corrected herself.

The two turned to the taller, blonde woman. She, in turn, gave a small frown.

"I am Sailor Uranus," she informed them. "That is my title and that is what you will call me. Now let's go."

The remaining pair looked at each other and then followed after her down the deserted city street. What occurred after that was an awkward stillness. Against his usual quiet persona, Sage decided to break the silence. After all, he needed information more than he needed to keep appearances.

"You seem to know a lot about this Lady Ebony," he said to Sailor Uranus. "How do you know these things and where does she come from?"

"Neptune and I were sent here specifically to fight her by a friend of ours--Sailor Pluto," Uranus started to explain. "Lady Ebony is from a whole different dimension called the Negaverse. It's a reality that exists outside of this one that holds a lot of different entities--mostly evil. Parasites that often slip into our world and attempt to conquer it."

Sailor Uranus paused to check on her male companion. He seemed to be listening, but his face was stone. Did he believe anything she had said?

"I know it's kind of hard to swallow, but it's the truth," she insisted.

"Trust me," Sage replied with almost a smile. "It's not as hard for me to believe as you think it might. Please continue."

"At one time, Lady Ebony was the most powerful being in the Negaverse," Sailor Neptune explained. She and Sailor Mercury had found each other and were also making their way back to the center of the city. "She was so powerful she created another plane of existence outside the Negaverse and our own universe. She called it the Out World. A place she commanded and ruled entirely. It has been kept in existence for thousands of years, powered by her own negative energy. As long as she and her powers exist then it, too will also exist."

"I heard she, at one time, looked quite human. Perhaps she even was one all those years ago. But her dark powers have transformed her into what she is now. It's sad, no matter how much negative energy she gathers, it will eventually destroy her one way or another."

"Kind of like how blood is what keeps us alive but also causes our bodies to age," Sailor Mercury noted.

"Yes, kind of like that," Neptune agreed.

"Evidently, she's getting low on energy," Sailor Uranus continued to explain. "In order to keep her world alive she has used the remaining of her power to come to this world to harvest more energy."

"Is that why she took Robyn?" Sage asked.

Sailor Jupiter, who was listening to all of this quietly, almost stopped in her tracks at the concern laced in his voice. She still remembered the green armor's attack at her aunt's appartment. Also, he had been so neutral until then. She glanced over at the handsome young man and he looked away; as if ashamed at what he had let slip past.

"I suppose," Sailor Uranus replied, gathering everyone's attention again. "But it puzzles me. Every time a creature from the Negaverse tries to get energy they take it from hundreds, sometimes thousands of people at a time if they can. The energy from just one person would never be enough. And yet, for as long as Neptune and I have followed Ebony around, we found her spending her remaining time and energy focusing on just one person. Even then, we never would have guessed Lady Ebony was after her. We thought it was one or all of you with the powers you five have."

"But you were wrong."

The two stopped as Sailor Jupiter stayed back and suddenly burst out her accusation.

"You could have told us what was going on, Amara," she said angrily. "We could have helped you to prevent all this. But you're too damn proud to ask for help! And now that poor girl is God knows where suffering for your pride! All because you thought you could handle this all by yourself."

That was just enough to set the taller blonde off.

"I CAN handle this myself!" Sailor Uranus spat back. "We were doing fine until you five meddlers showed up! You kept getting in the way of our mission and ruining all our plans! We would have done fine--even better than fine if none of you had to follow us here!"

"Why you arrogant bitch!"

"Um...." Sage tried to cut in, not wanting a fight to break out.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" both females yelled at him before proceeding on their way to insult and scream at each other.

Sage blinked for a few moments. Then he sat himself down on the street corner and sighed. It was exactly like being back home.

"RYOOO! SAAGE! KENTOO! IS ANYONE OUT THERE?" Rowen paused and listened to the dead stillness of the dark city. Even from the roof tops he was having no luck in finding anyone in this instant ghost town. "I'll even settle for CYEEEEE!"

"Give it a rest already, no one can hear you," said the white, talking cat draped over his shoulder.

"I don't recall asking your opinion," Rowen retorted.

"What's the point of being able to talk if you can't give it?" Artemis smirked.

Rowen smirked back as he suddenly jumped off the building. Artemis gave a startled yowl as he dug his claws into the dark blue armor and hung on for dear life as the ground came screaming towards him.

"Fun, huh?" Rowen grinned when they landed. Artemis' tail was now puffed up twice its normal size and the cat was altogether quite a comedic sight to the blue haired young man.

"Would you quit doing that?!" Artemis demanded.

"What a sissy," Rowen stated as he started walking again; almost like he was going on a stroll through the park. "You're no good to me. A cat that didn't know how to talk would be just as helpful as you are."

"Hey! Just because I--" He paused and perked up his ears.

"What?" Rowen wanted to know.

"I hear something."

Rowen paused and listened to the stillness. Very faintly he heard someone calling his name.

"That's Kento!" Rowen exclaimed excitedly as he took of in a dead run. "I'm over here! I'm coming! Where are you!"

"Rowen! I hear you buddy! I'm over on Main Street by the manga shop!"

Rowen cut a sharp right down an alley which led him right on the main road through town. And just a few paces more, he saw his comrade in arms.

"Kento, buddy. Long time no see," he greeted. "Man, it's crazy what you can hear when there's no sound in the city."

"I'm amazed you can hear at all," Kento gave a crooked smile. "I could hear you yelling my name for the last ten minutes but you couldn't hear me. You may have good archer's vision but your hearing sucks."

Artemis snickered. "And you wouldn't have heard him at all if it wasn't for me. I'm not so useless any more, am I?"

Kento blinked. "Rowen, did that cat just talk?"

Rowen just huffed and brushed the talking cat off his shoulder. Artemis hit the ground and slunk away indignantly to go brood. Behind the two came a pained moan which caught the two warrior's attention.

"Who is that?" Rowen asked.

Kento walked over to the figure that was propped up against one of the buildings. "I don't know. I found him along the way and have been hauling him all around town. He's in a pretty bad way." He crouched down next to the recovering Tuxedo Mask. "I'm surprised he's already starting to get up."

Tuxedo Mask sat up and shook his head. Bad idea. It still hurt pretty bad. How long had he been out? Where was he now?

"Dude, you okay?" came a voice ringing in his ears.

The dark haired man squinted through his mask as his vision cleared. Two younger men were looking at him curiously. The warrior in orange offered him a hand. Tuxedo Mask took it and he was pulled to his feet easily despite his taller stature.

"Yeah, I--I think I'll be alright," he managed to say.

"Good! Because it's time to look alive!" Rowen exclaimed as a hoard of shadow demons flew in from the darkness.

The black creatures screeched when they saw their prey and charged the rag tag warriors. The three young men all scattered to dodge the attack and then began a small, but fierce battle of man against demon.

i Man, if only Cye was here, we could get rid of these guys. /a Kento thought as he swung as the shadows. A flash of red on the street corner caught his eye and Kento got an idea.

Tuxedo Mask swiped at one monster with his cane, but it just went right through it. The creature, in return, charged back, cutting through the material and flesh on his arm. The Earth Prince stumbled back and at a glance he saw a white cat with a demon screaming right for him.

"Artemis! Look out!"

The cat stiffened at the site of the threat and couldn't move. There was a flash of deep blue and Artemis was out of harm's way before the creature could puncture the ground with its sharp tail.

"Like I said, useless," Rowen grinned to the cat in his arms.

Artemis just gasped as another shadow was aiming right for them. At the same time, Kento managed to break free and ran for the red object. He swung his staff around with all his power and smashed the fire hydrant to pieces. Gallons upon gallons of water gushed up from the street and rained all over. The shadow creatures gave a shrill, painful cry as the water seemed to almost burn them away to oblivion.

Through the falling water, Rowen stood up and looked at his friend. Who would have ever thought Kento's quick thinking would have saved his life? The bearer of Hardrock, seeming to know what he was thinking, just smiled back. Rowen trudged out of the path of the gusher and frowned at the soaked object in his arms.

"I hate the smell of wet cat hair."

"You're no petunia yourself," Artemis retorted. The white cat shook the water from himself in Rowen's face and then hopped down.

"Hey!"

"Are you still okay, dude?" Kento asked as he turned to the panting Tuxedo Mask who was clutching his bleeding arm.

"I'll be fine. It's not too deep. The bleeding's already stopped." He removed his gloved hand to show them. He would last until this battle was over if he received no more further injuries.

"Do you think you're okay enough to travel?" Rowen asked doubtfully. "Because we still have a ways to go."

"I can manage it."

"Great. By the way, I'm Rowen and this is Kento."

"I," announced the caped young man. "Am called Tuxedo Mask."

The two warriors eyes went wide as they fought to choke back snorts of laughter. Tuxedo Mask continued to look annoyed as Kento and Rowen managed to gain control of themselves again.

"Now that you're done, should we get going?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"He's right," Rowen admitted, though he was still smiling big. "We've still got important things to do."

As the group of now four started off, Kento couldn't help but comment.

"Hey Rowen, wouldn't it be weird to be named after what you wore?"

Rowen snickered back at the new joke they discovered at their companion's expense. "Yeah, we would have to call you Big Ugly Orange Armor."

"Oh yeah?" Kento demanded as the two non-ronins rolled their eyes. "Well then your name would be Stupid Looking Banana Helmet!"

"It does look like a banana," Artemis snickered.

"IT'S NOT A BANANA!" Rowen screetched. "Oh, you're dead meat now kitty!" With that, he withdrew a golden arrow and aimed it at the cat.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Tuxedo Mask demanded, stepping in front of Rowen's arrow. "Apparently your kidnapped friend doesn't mean much to you if you'd rather carry on with these petty squabbles."

That sobered up the two warriors very quickly.

"Tuxedo Cape is right," Kento admitted. "We have to pull together and save Robyn."

"Mask."

"What?"

"My name is Tuxedo MASK."

"Oh, sorry dude. Mask, cape, you're wearing them both. I got mixed up."

As they continued on, Kento once again addressed their costumed traveler. "Are you sure you're okay? You're bleeding again."

"It's fine," Tuxedo Mask insisted. This time her tore a piece of his cape off to make a bandage for the wound. "Just as long as we don't run into any more of those things."

"Yeah, I don't see another fire hydrant anywhere," Rowen added.

"I should have brought my Super Soaker," Kento lamented. And then "Hey Rowen, why do you think water is the only thing that hurts them anyway?"

The bearer of Strata rubbed his chin in thought as they walked. "Hmm....well, that Lady Ebony called them "Shadow Demons" so that means they're probably demonic or spiritual in essence."

"So you're saying they're ghosts?" Tuxedo Mask spoke up.

"Right."

"And ghosts can be hurt by water because.....?" Kento floundered, clueless.

"Ever heard the story of the Headless Horseman? When chasing people, he wouldn't go past the edge of the bridge. It was the water flowing under it that prevented him from going any further. The phenomenon of spirits remaining on an earthy plain, or hauntings as they're called, are often tied to one element; be it a house or a boat or even a mirror. The ghost of a woman drowned in a lake won't even be seen on land.

"So.....these shadow ghost things are tied to....the land?" Kento guessed.

"That's my theory," Rowen replied. "Water is used as a purifying agent to get rid of impurities. Hence why priests often use holy water during exorcisms. The water throws those shadow demons out of their element....."

"....and sends them back to the dark pit they came from!" Kento finished triumphantly.

Tuxedo Mask didn't say anything, but he was impressed. He had his doubts, but these young men seemed to know what they were doing and that helped his confidence.

"Man Rowen, how do you know this stuff?" Kento wondered.

"Believe me, I've had plenty of chances to study up on it lately," Rowen replied.

"Oh," Kento immediately sobered when he realized to what chances Rowen was referring.

"Hey Kento," Rowen suddenly asked. "What do you think Cye would do if he saw a talking cat?"

"A talking cat? He'd shit a brick!"

"I know!" Rowen laughed. "Hey! Talking cat, come here."

"I have a name you know! It's Artemis! Ar-te-mis!"

"Whatever, just come're. I want you to do something for me."

"No! Get away from me!" Artemis cried as he ran off.

"Wait! Come back," Rowen called as he ran after him. "If you ever see a guy in light blue armor just make sure you go up and talk to him. Maybe lick his face a little, too!"

"I said stay away you wacko!"

The two remaining young men looked at each other, shrugged, and then ran after their companions. Whatever would get them there quicker worked.

"So much for that plan," Katara said as she watched the group of four run off. She and her older sister were stationed atop a small two story store where they viewed the previous scene secretly. "And we're out of shadow demons. Now that those brats all know their weaknesses none of them will go out and fight. Not only that, we still don't know where half of our enemies are; they were scattered around so much. Those we could find are getting dangerously close to the entrance. It looks like we're going to have to fight whatever ones we can find."

"Don't worry about it," her older sister said calmly as she preened her silver hair. "Lady Ebony is being far too paranoid. Even if they make it back to the center of the city it won't do them much good. Our Lady is in the other realm. They won't know how to cross over onto the other plain. Lady Ebony will be safe until her full powers return. Just relax."

"You could be right," Katara relented to her older sister. "But we should still keep an eye on them just in case."

Katana nodded and the two disappeared to continue their silent vigil over the separated groups of fighters.

Robyn's entire mental world shattered into tiny, unrecoverable pieces. It was torture from the inside out; she couldn't handle it all. All the things she had forced herself to forget had come back. She had worked so hard to get past it all, now she was tumbling into the dark oblivion of her forgotten nightmares. Everything--every little negative element that had ever been present in her life was all playing itself at once over and over through her soul.

She remembered the time her hand got slammed in the door when she was eight. When she sprained her ankle at fifteen. That day in ninth grade when the teacher had horribly embarrassed her in front of class for being late. All the stubbed toes and skinned knees through her childhood. All the hateful words, the hurtful looks, and the frightening threats that came from living at home. She was under the water again with her mother's hands holding her down, wishing her to die. And at the same time, she could feel exactly the way it felt when her father beat her once with a wood baseball bat and every other time he had used his fists on her.

Robyn's whole body suddenly clenched tighter as she remember the form of her father standing at point blank with a gun in his hand. The stress of knowing something was still out there to get her multiplied with the stress of passing her finals. To succeed in life; to do something with herself. To somehow break out and move past the slums she was born in--even if she didn't have a clue to where she was going next.

Her hand hurt. It burned. She could feel the flesh melting away when it was forced to touch that scalding red armor. Inside, her heart hurt far worse. He was supposed to be her friend. How could he let that happen? How could he hurt her more when her world had been shattered when she thought Cye was dead?

Cye.

The dark force inside her found the most profound of pains rotting in her recollection and fed on it. It made the hurt grow bigger, deeper, until it twisted into something more that what it was. This dark lie grew and pounced on its originator and swallowed her into dark madness. Robyn couldn't take the torture any more. The last vision; the last pain was too much and her entire being cried out in complete agony.

"Here you go," Sailor Venus offered pleasantly.

A weak, wounded Cye took the bottled water from her gratefully and drank. The blonde senshi and taken it from a near by store. She would have paid for it, but there was no one to give the money to. Her male companion looked like he really needed it so she hoped it would be okay. Next to them, Sailor Mars was doing her best to patch up Cye's head wound. It wasn't that deep, but the stubborn thing had refused to stop bleeding and needed to be stopped up so they could continue.

"That should hold for a while," Mars announced as she looked over her work. Red was already starting to seep through the bandage, but it seemed to be slowing.

"That will do for now," Cye confirmed as he touched the stained material adorning his forehead. "Thank you."

"And thank you for saving me," Sailor Venus suddenly said as Cye got to his feet. "I forgot to say that earlier, but I really am grateful."

Cye smiled at her while Mars rolled her eyes in the background. Though Kento was the one who usually went for blondes, Cye had to admit she was really very pretty. Sweet as well.

"It was no problem, I---"

The bottle of water fell from his fingertips as a smothering wave of emotion suddenly washed over him. In other areas around the city the rest of the Ronins felt a tickle in their consciousness. But nothing so extreme as what the bearer of Torrent was experiencing.

Sailor Venus cried in surprise when Cye suddenly fell to his knees shaking. The young warrior was trembling as the overwhelming sensation seemed to swallow him. He fought back the urge to vomit. It was so much pain, he could feel his spirit start to rip and bleed from it. But it wasn't his. He was experiencing someone else's anguish. And like a cloud burst in the back of his head, a voice pierced through the haze of negativity.

_CYYYYEEEEEE!!!!!!_

"Are you okay?" Venus asked worriedly as she knelt beside the crouching, trembling warrior.

Cye didn't seem to hear her as he jumped back into the present.

"Robyn," he gasped under his breath and was off like a shot down the street.

The two scouts behind him shouted to wait up, but he didn't hear them. Faster and faster he raced in a frightened frenzy. He was becoming lightheaded from the head wound and his bandage was coming undone. But that, too, was ignored. He could feel all her pain. He sensed what they were doing to her. She needed him and he had to find her.

There it was. Straight ahead stood the building where they had all stood before being separated. He didn't notice the change in its appearance at first. All he saw was the ghostly apparition that appeared in front of it.

"Robyn!"

He raced for the figure who reached out her hand pleadingly as she was pulling through the building walls. Cye ran faster for her as more of her was being pulled in. He lunged for her hand, but his finger tips slipped right through her transparent ones as he hit into a solid cement wall. Helpless to stop it, he could only watch as Robyn disappeared through the solid building.

"No!" he cried as he hit his fists on the side of the building. How could he have not been able to save her? He had truly let her down. "NO! ROBYN!!!"

"Slow down! Wait uuuuup!" Sailor Moon cried as she scrambled after the red clad warrior racing several paces ahead of her.

Ryo cursed his handicap.

"I can't!" he called behind him. "I have to get there! You can do it. We're almost there."

The nagging feeling in his heart wouldn't allow him to slow down. He wasn't sure who or why, but his armor told him someone he cared about needed him now and nothing in the world was going to stop him from being there.

A larger building was in his view before he turned the corner and could see his destination. Sailor Mercury and Neptune where actually the first to arrive and were sitting around waiting when everyone started to show up. Venus and Mars had followed Cye when he came racing up. Sailor Jupiter, Uranus, and Sage were already there as well when Ryo came charging around the corner. Kento and Rowen, followed by Artemis and Tuxedo Mask, appeared the same time he did. And the second they arrived, everyone's eyes were riveted on the same site.

A frantic Cye had his yari out and was slashing insanely at the wall of the building. His head wound had broken open from the strain and was once again bleeding freely down his face. The enraged warrior was far beyond noticing anything so minute as he cried out with each slash of the three pronged staff.

Sage was the first one to react and had to dodge a few swings before he managed to get the weapon out of Cye's hands. Even without it, Cye was not going to slow down and started pounding vengefully on the wall with his fists on intent of breaking through with his bare hands.

"Cye!" Kento called as he grabbed his friend from behind and pinned his arms to his side. "Cye, calm down!"

Torrent, by now, was exhausted and easily fell to his knees with Kento's added weight upon him. He stared hard and heatedly at the ground while he panted heavily.

"Robyn's in there," he choked as he struggled for breath. "I can't save her, Kento. They're killing her in there and I can't save her!"

"Yes you will, buddy," Kento consoled as he refused to let his friend go. "We'll find her. We'll get in there."

Ryo watched on, wondering if he, too should go comfort his friend when something brushed by his hand. White Blaze padded past Wildfire and over to the cement wall. He sniffed and scratched at it before letting out a mournful roar. Things weren't looking good.

"That's not exactly a normal building any more," Rowen said quietly as he approached Ryo. "I really don't see how we can get in."

He was right. Gone were any doors or windows that may have been there earlier. The whole thing now looked like nothing but a solid, cement cube.

"What do you make of it Mercury?" Sailor Jupiter asked her friend.

Sailor Mercury summoned her visor and took a look at their new obstacle.

"It's solid," she exclaimed. "There's no way in because the whole thing is uniform throughout. Nothing can be in there."

"That can't be true," Sage accused. "Robyn has to be in there."

"She may be there," Sailor Uranus announced. "But not on this plane of existence. Lady Ebony has taken her to the Out World. There's no physical way to reach her."

With an ever concerned Kento by his side, Cye slowly stood up and leaned heavily against the wall.

"I couldn't do it," he whispered. His eyes were closed tightly, but they couldn't stop the stream of hot tears pushing their way through. "I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to her and I lied. Why did she trust me when I couldn't keep her safe?"

Ryo watched his friend's suffering while his anger built until his fists trembled.

"No Cye," he told him. "It wasn't your fault, it was mine."

"Oh, don't even start Ryo!" Sage was quick to cut in. "You can't blame yourself for this one! Not every little thing is your fault!"

"But this WAS my fault," Ryo insisted stubbornly. "She was standing right next to me Sage, and I let her get captured. Two feet. Two stupid feet from me!" He turned from Sage's piercing gaze and clenched his fists tighter. "She should have been safe with me and she wasn't."

The Sailor Scouts, for their part, had reunited and were helplessly watching the drama among the warriors.

"Guys, we can't let this happen," Sailor Moon announced. "There has to be something we can do."

"Everyone," Sailor Jupiter announced. "Look at the city."

All present gazed around them. In every direction there was nothing but blackness and it was slowly creeping closer.

"It's almost finished," gasped Sailor Neptune. "Lady Ebony's power is already growing and it's swallowing this world until it will be completely part of her realm."

A determined Sailor Moon turned to the two mysterious outer senshi. "There must be some way we can get to this Out World. We have to try and stop it!"

Neptune and Uranus looked at each other.

"We might be able to do it using out combined planet power," the former suggested. "But it will be hard. It will take all of us together to do it."

"We're coming with you," Ryo announced as he and the other Ronins approached.

"Impossible," Sailor Uranus scoffed. "There's no way we're taking you with us."

Undaunted, Ryo was quick to retort by pulling out his blade and pointing it at the taller, blonde senshi.

"We are going," he told her. He looked her in the face with his intense, deep eyes. "I will not allow her to die. At least, not alone."

That speech was enough to make the stubborn Sailor Uranus surprised and she smiled slightly at Wildfire's sword.

"Okay," she relented. "We'll give it a try."

Within seconds the Sailor Scouts were standing hand in hand in a circle with the Ronins in the middle. Tuxedo Mask, along with two talking cats and a white tiger stayed to the side. If this succeeded, they would not be able to follow.

"Ready?" Sailor Uranus asked the young men in the middle.

Ryo looked at the stern faces of his companions and then nodded.

"Okay girls," Sailor Moon coached. "Let's give it all we've got!"

The group of seven closed their eyes and concentrated on all their powers while the group of five looked around, wondering what would happen. Bright whites emanated from each scout as the circle began to build up power.

"MERCURY PLANET POWER!"

"VENUS PLANET POWER!"

"JUPITER PLANET POWER!"

"MARS PLANET POWER!"

"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER!"

"URANUS PLANET POWER!"

"MOON PLANET POWER!"

The wind began to pick up as energy swirled and crackled all around. The light got brighter and brighter and the members of the circle felt like they were almost about to lift off the ground. But then.....

"It's not working," Sailor Mars cried above the roar.

"The circle is loosing power," Sailor Venus confirmed.

Eventually, the energy died down again and all scouts and ronins were still where they had started.

"We--we couldn't do it," Mercury lamented. "We just can teleport that many people."

"Damnit!" Kento cursed under his breath.

"No!" Rowen suddenly snapped. "We are going to do this! Everyone stay in the circle!" He turned to face the quizzical expression of his comrades.

"We can do this," he told them. "Remember back when we fought Talpa. Remember what the Ancient told us. These powers were given to us so we can protect the people we love. Our armors won't let us down if we believe in them and we work together." He held out his hand in the midst of them. "Are you guys with me?"

"Of course, bro!" Kento agreed as he placed his hand on top of Strata's. "You know I'm too hard headed to give up now!"

"I'm not qutting when we're this close," Cye said as he put his hand into the circle.

"We will do this," Sage put in as well. "I know we have the power."

"I'm not giving up either," Ryo replied as he rested his hand over the others. "Not while there's still life left in me."

"Then let's combine our powers," Rowen said with almost a smile. "We've got a world to save."

The seven sailor girls tried again as the young men in the middle called upon their power as well. As the scouts once again called upon their guardian planets, the Ronins called upon their virtues to help them.

"Life." _Hang in there Robyn, we're coming for you._

"Justice." _Come on armors! This has to work or we're screwed!_

"Wisdom."_ I won't let this world be plunged into darkness._

"Trust." _I'll use whatever power I have left to find you. I won't let you down._

"Virtue." _The five of us have sworn to protect this world and the people we love._

Their foreheads flared with their respective kanjis as the planet circle once again powerd up. The light was ten times brighter this time and far more powerful. The energy spun and sizzled and shot upward to the black sky like a bolt of lightning where it disappeared. It left in its place nothing to speak of. The group of fighters had traversed on to the other realm.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Into the Darkness

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Eleven: Into the Darkness

As the circle of warriors powered up, two pairs of eyes were watching from a near by roof top.

"You said they would never make it to the Other Side!" Katara accused of her older sister. "You said not to worry about it! Lady Ebony told us not to let them near her!"

The larger of the Amazon Duo looked tense as she struggled to formulate a plan of action. She honestly didn't think any of the group had the power to transcend dimensions. Now they had to act fast or feel their mistress's wrath when she found out they had failed.

"I think I have an idea," Katana announced. "All we have to do is get to the Other Side before they do, come on."

She grabbed her younger sister's wrist, and the two disappeared as the Sailor/Ronin power circle shot up into the sky.

Sailor Mars twitched an eyebrow as she slowly regained consciousness. What had happened? She remembered traveling to the other dimension using the planet power. Then, she vaguely recalled feeling another power upon them half way through their journey. Then nothing.

She slowly sat up and looked around. The atmosphere was dark. There seemed to be nothing around her or her fallen comrades but blackness. A blackness that felt solid but hardly looked it.

"Is everyone okay?" she called to the pile of scouts.

"Ooh, I think so," Sailor Venus moaned as she pulled herself to her knees and adjusted her crooked tiara. "What happened?"

"Some kind of power source hit us and threw us off," Sailor Uranus stated seriously. "I'm guessing where in the Out World, but not necessarily in the spot we wanted to be."

"Hey, what happened to those guys?" Sailor Jupiter asked as she looked around.

The other members of the group did the same. There was no sign of the Ronin Warriors anywhere.

"Didn't they come with us? What happened to them?"

"That's my fault, I'm afraid," came a deep, calm voice. Out of the shadows stepped the older of the duo, Katana, her yellow eyes shining menacingly in the darkness.

"YOU!!" Sailor Uranus spat as she suddenly jumped to her feet, ready for a fight. Sailor Neptune followed in suit.

"Wait," Katana insisted calmly. "I'm not here for a fight. I was the one who interfered with your powers and brought you here. I did it to help you."

"Help us?! You attacked us back in Tokyo!" Uranus accused.

Katana hung her head. "Yes, we did, and I apologize. My sister and I--we have done some horrible things under Lady Ebony's control. I have managed to free myself of that control now and I want to help you fight her and the rest of her followers. It may be hard to believe, but those warriors you traveled with are not your allies." The cat creature looked at them all seriously. "They are the real threat to your world."

Cye woke up to a buzzing in his brain. He could still feel the stickiness of the drying blood down the side of his face. He stirred and moaned and became aware of something heavy on his chest. Opening his eyes, they instantly grew wide when the first thing they saw was a furry face with burning yellow eyes glaring back.

The bearer of Torrent was frozen in shock to see the pink haired cat creature straddling his waist. She had her arms folded over her chest as she leaned over idly until they were practically nose to nose.

"It's about time you woke up," Katara purred. "I was starting to get bored."

Cye looked up into the feline face and he was frozen. His entire body was suddenly over come by the heebee geebees and his skin felt like it just wanted to slither away from the offensive creature and go hide in a dark corner.

"What's the matter, warrior?" Katara asked in an amused tone. "Don't like cats?" She slid her body up his very sensually and then licked his nose. "Or is it just me?"

Cye could feel a bloody nose about to come when he caught a glimpse down her cleavage. He closed his eyes, the bile in his throat beginning to rise. This was just so wrong!

Luckily for him, a pair of arms stretched out of the darkness and, with a familiar looking bladed staff, yanked the creature off him. Katara spat and struggled at her capture as Kento pinned her to him by holding his naginata across her mid section.

"Let go of me!" the pink haired creature spat. She slashed at Kento's face with her claws. He dropped her and dodged out of the way before his eyes were gouged out.

Cye jumped to his feet, though it was clear he was still trying to get over his too close encounter with the creature.

"You okay, buddy?" Kento asked as he moved to his friend's side in a defensive stance.

"As long as that thing doesn't touch me again," Cye said with distaste. He looked very unsettled as if he had found a spider crawling in his shirt.

"Okay, who are you?" Sage demanded with no-datchi outstretched. Rowen and Ryo were right behind him.

"And what did you do with those girls that were with us?" Rowen demanded.

The cat-woman just smiled. "They have turned against you, warrior. They never meant to help you. They just needed your powers to get to this realm."

The Ronins were taken aback by that statement. They were more used to lines such as "We have kidnaped them and will kill them if you don't surrender your armors."

Kento scratched his hairline beneath his helmet. "Well guys, what do you think?" he asked his comrades.

"I think it's a lie!" Rowen accused as he aimed an arrow at his new foe.

Katara hardly seemed bothered by it. "Believe what you want. It makes no difference for it is the truth."

Rowen, stubborn as ever, was about to argue the matter further when Ryo stepped in. "It doesn't matter. We didn't come here for them. Tell us where Robyn is and we won't hurt you."

The cat creature just threw back her head and let out a shrill hyena-like laugh. "You? Hurt me? In my own world?" She suddenly fell serious. "Not possible!"

Katara reached for the whip at her side. She hurled it out to its full length and snapped it in the air. The weapon sizzled and crackled red with energy.

"Now boys," she purred as she crouched in a fighting stance. "This is the part where you die."

"What are you talking about?" Ami announced. "They're not evil. They're fighting with us."

"No, you are wrong," Katana insisted. "They have tricked you. Everything has been set up to get you to trust them. It is they who want to bring darkness to the world. It was they...." she paused to clench her fists angrily. "...who killed my sister."

"So it was them!" Sailor Jupiter announced. "Why? How could they do such a thing?"

"Because we were trying to stop them," Katana replied mater of factly. "Because we were the only ones who knew who they were and what their plans were. They wanted us dead before we could warn you about them. They killed Katara when she was trying to find you."

"Oh, how awful," Sailor Moon sympathized. "We had no idea."

Sailor Uranus furrowed her brows. This story didn't add up somehow. Her first encounter with these creatures was still fresh in her mind. They seemed so heartless and unforgiving in their attacks. They didn't seem at all that possessed to Uranus. Was it really possible for one to change so drastically?

"How can we be sure that you're different now?" Sailor Neptune completely spoke her thoughts. "Just because you were under someone's control and you aren't now doesn't automatically make you a person to trust."

"I know. None of you have any reason to trust me," Katana replied humbly. "But this isn't about me. This is about evil forces wanting to destroy your world. I don't even live on your planet. Why would it make any difference to me what happens to it? Shouldn't the fact that I want to help you save it be enough?"

The scouts all looked at each other as different doubts played with their decisions.

"Okay, one more question," Sailor Venus spoke up. "What makes you think these armor guys are bad and why would they want to destroy their own world?"

Katana's mouth pressed itself into a firm line as she stared down Venus with her yellow eyes. "I don't know why they would want to destroy such a beautiful planet," she admitted. "All I know is that this isn't the first time they've tried it."

Several members present were taken aback at that statement.

"What do you mean?" Sailor Mercury asked, almost floored by this new information.

"They once worked over an evil and powerful master named Talpa who also tried to conquer this world. He was the one who gave them their armors. Thousands of years ago he used the armors to lead his army of dark followers to ravage this world. But he was stopped and the armors were taken from him. A few years ago he was able to regain his powers and the armors and bring them back under his control for a second attempt at conquest. Here, I will show you."

Katara turned to the blackness and waved a clawed hand. The scouts gathered around as a visual portal appeared and relayed to all a great, and fearful figure riding a black horse with burning red eyes.

"I am Talpa," a sinister voice boomed. "I shall conquer this world and ravage all life from existence! Everything in it shall be mine!"

He raised his mighty sword as an army of darkness stood at ready behind him. Talpa gave the signal, and the army attacked. At the point of the masses were five familiar armors that decimated everything in their paths. Trees, houses, even people were cut down like weeds in their wake and blood flowed like rivers through the devastation. Women, children, the elderly; nothing was spared. Individuals were made to endure horrible, agonizing deaths and the bearers of the evil devices seemed to revel in it. Their true powers were exposed as the cries of their victims rang through the chaos.

"Yes," came Talpa's voice again. "My Warriors of Darkness. Your power is mine! Use it to crush this world and I will rule it all!"

The familiar armors raised their weapons high, each one dripping with the blood of the innocent, pledging their loyalty and power all to the Dark Master.

"Eww, scary!" Sailor Moon whined. "And we have to fight them!?"

"That's it," Sailor Mars announced, getting everyone's attention. "That's what I saw in my vision. And whatever force that is, we must stop it."

"But, are you sure it's really them?" Sailor Venus pressed. She still remembered the handsome young man with the beautiful green eyes. He seemed so kind. How could he possibly be evil? "We couldn't see their faces. What if it was someone else wearing the armors."

"It doesn't matter," Sailor Uranus cut in. "We will simply fight who ever tries to stop us from saving the planet and we will stand up to whoever gets in our way," She glanced over at Katana. "No matter who they are."

The other scouts nodded.

"Come then," Katana said with a smile. "Follow me."

"You're going to take all of us?" Rowen asked dubiously. "You must be joking."

"And you must be a fool," Katara shot back. "For sizing up an opponent before you've even seen their power. YAH!"

She hurled her vicious whip at them. The end of the weapon seemed to grow a life of its own in mid air. It split into five different parts and moved lightning fast, like a striking snake; catching each Ronin around the neck. Katara gave a feral grin as she watched her prey struggle to break free. Ryo was slashing at the whip with his katanas, but they could not break through the enchanted weapon.

Katara gave her usual shrieking laugh as she tugged on the whip. The whole thing started to glow and crackle and each warrior cried out as black energy coursed through their body with the intent to break them all.

Sage fought to even keep an eye open. The pain was so immense. Just like being back in Talpa's torture chamber. He could barely hold himself up as the cries of his comrades and that creature's horrible, shattering laughter echoed in his ears. He had to stop this! As the Warrior of Light, he had to do all he could to defeat the darkness and push it back where it came from.

Concentrating all his strength, Sage took his no-datchi and jammed the whip between the small handle blade near the hilt of his sword. He forced himself forward to loosen the slack so he could wrap it around the blade further. Then, he began to call all his armor's power into that sword.

"What do you think you're doing?" Katara demanded over the screams.

The other Ronins were starting to fail as pain was overtaking them. Sage stayed still, forcing his mind to forget his physical agony. His eyes stayed closed tight in concentration until they suddenly flashed open and stared hard at the cat creature. Katara tried to listen above all the noise to decipher what this green warrior was saying.

"Thuundeeeer Booooolt CUUUUUUT!!!!"

Light energy spilled from the glowing blade and slashed through the darkness that was pouring from its foe. It jetted like lightning up the whip to its holder. Katara could only watch with wide eyes. There was no time to react before the attack hit her. Her weapon exploded in her hand and she was sent flying.

There was a collective sigh of relief from the Ronins as the ends of the whip went dead and limp. Rowen winced as he slowly slid the thing off from around his slightly burned neck. Next to him, Cye coughed as he fought to regain air back to his lungs while Kento threw his end off like it was a snake. Ryo regained his fallen swords before slowly approaching Sage who was down on his knees and panting heavily.

"Boy, you sure saved us that time," Wildfire said as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I--I'll be okay," Sage responded, still a bit out of breath. He used his sword to help pull him back on his feet. "It took almost all my strength to over power her dark energy. She's powerful, Ryo."

"You haven't seen the half of it," a sinister voice hissed.

The Ronins looked to the source to see two eyes glowing red in the darkness. A feral growl emanated from the same direction as the thing in the blackness slowly stalked forward.

It was Katara again--or was it? This creature, though still with the bushy, pink hair, looked far more animal now. The Ronins almost couldn't help themselves in stepping back as this new form advanced. She crept on all fours and, as Katara got closer, Sage could see his handy work. One of the front paws was horribly burned and a black, blood-like ooze dripped from the wound.

"She looks hurt," Cye whispered to Sage nervously. "That's good, right?"

"Yeah, but I poured all my energy into that attack and that's all the damage I did to her," Sage replied.

"And they say wounded animals can be the most dangerous," Rowen just had to put in.

"Thanks Rowen, that just made us all feel a whole lot better," Cye shot back sarcastically.

"Any time," the bearer of Strata grinned back.

"You will all perish here," Katara said, her voice rising in power. "And then, so too shall your world!" It didn't sound like her usual high pitched voice. Almost as if this other creature she was turning into was taking over.

Katara opened her ravenous jaws and a great beam of energy shot from her mouth. Not wishing to be caught in its path, the Ronins hurried to dive out of the way. Ryo couldn't get far enough away in time and was forced into no other option but to try and deflect part of the blast. He crossed his swords in front of him, channeling his armor's power into the blades to make a shield. But even then, the force of the blast threw him backwards hard into a part of the blackness that somehow solidified into a wall.

"Ryo!" his comrades cried as he was engulfed by the energy.

The attack faded and Ryo still stayed in the same defensive position. For a moment, he looked okay before he slid painfully down the wall into a sitting position with his weapons at his side.

"Ryo, are you okay, dude?" Kento asked as he and the others ran to his side.

Ryo grunted as he cracked open one eye. "Man, that thing has some major juice," he breathed.

"That wasn't even a direct hit," Cye worried.

"You don't think....she's stronger than Talpa was," Rowen voiced the fear on everyone's mind.

"It's hard to tell Rowen," Ryo admitted as Sage and Kento helped him to his feet. "Her powers seem to come from a different source than Talpa's did. Whether she's stronger or not, I don't know if we'll be able to defeat her the way we defeated Talpa."

"Still, we've got to try," Sage insisted. "One thing we Ronins don't do is give up, even if we don't know what we're doing."

"Ain't that the truth," Kento agreed with a grin.

"You don't have the power to stop me here," Katara growled.

The Ronins instantly put up a fighting stance protectively on the still battered Ryo as she stalked closer. The cat creature hardly seemed worried about the number of foes she had to face.

"My powers are ten times greater than they ever were in your world. And they will continue to grow, thanks to the energy harvested from your little friend."

"What is she talking about?" Kento wondered.

"It's Robyn," Sage relayed to them. "They're using her like some sort of power generator so they can spread this dark world to our own."

"That's right," Katara gave a throaty laugh. "And we'll drain her dry until there's no life left in her and then discard that thing like an old battery. And there's nothing any of you can do about it!"

With that, she spewed forth another great energy blast from her mouth. The Ronins all rushed to dive out of the way.

"Ryo, what are we going to do?" Cye worried. "We have to get past this creature and find Robyn! We're running out of time!"

"Yeah! Let's use the White Armor on her!" Kento agreed.

"Hold it," Rowen cut in. "Every time we use that thing it zaps all out powers. If we use it on her, we'll be too spent to fight the other one and Lady Ebony."

"Right," Ryo agreed. "We have to save Inferno until there's no other choice. We can beat her without it if we work as a team."

"Let's combine sure kills on her, maybe that will work," Sage suggested.

Cye was about to comment on a strategy when another blast exploded in the midst of them. Each Ronin was sent flying. Cye hit the ground with a bone jarring thud as something heavy landed on top of his chest.

"You're the funnest to play with," Katara cackled. She was on all fours on his chest, holding him down. She opened her jaws and Cye could see the energy building up deep within her throat. He was going to loose his face--make that his entire head--if he didn't think of something quick!

Cye groped for his yari and pointed it mere inches from the beast's chest.

"SuperWaveSmasher!" He called out quickly.

His weapon didn't have time to build up enough power for a full sure kill, but the stream of energy it shot out was enough to jettison the younger of the Amazon Duo off of him.

Cats may always land on their feet, but this one didn't get a chance to reach the ground. In mid air, Katara was caught in another energy blast coming from above.

"ARROW SHOCK WAVE!"

Katara's body shot to the ground and was pinned there for several seconds before the energy blast subsided. The Ronins all watched tensely as the body remained where it was.

"Did we get it?" Kento wondered.

The body didn't twitch. Sage held up the glowing blade of his sword so they could see the creature better. Smoke sizzled up from the charred fur. By all accounts, the creature appeared to have been vanquished.

Rowen carefully inched his way up to the smoking form and poked at it with the tip of his bow. Nothing. He turned to his friends and smiled.

"We got her guys!"

"Rowen, look out!" Ryo cried.

Before the bearer of Strata could react, the creature sprang up behind him and gave him a mighty swipe across the helmet. Rowen was knocked over as Katara sprang to the next nearest Ronin with a snarl. Kento jumped backwards before his eyes could get clawed out while Cye tried to come up from behind. But Katara was too quick and Torrent ended up with an equal blow like Strata.

Katara was dodging every swipe of Ryo's katanas while Sage stalked over to them.

"I'm getting a little tired of this," Halo growled. "Of all this darkness."

His raised his sword above his head. "Everyone, close your eyes."

They all did just that. Ryo, luckily having a bit more smarts that just to follow suit, suddenly stopped the fight and moved a safe distance from Katara before shielding his vision.

Confused as to why her fight had suddenly ended, Katara looked up and growled in rage as she was instantly blinded by a searing light. Having lived in this dark world for so long, her eyes could hardly bear such a light and that was what Sage had been counting on. The cat creature screamed her fury as she was forced to turn away from the brightness.

"Now, creature of darkness," Sage announced to her. "You will fall here. Your mission to spread eternal darkness into our world will not succeed. THUNDER BOLT CUT!"

The mighty no-datchi cut through the darkness like no other blade could and the light zagged forth to its master's foe. Though still blinded, Katara still managed to lunge out of the way. Sage growled when his energy blast missed. He took his blade and arced it over him. The head of the sure kill followed the same curve and arched around to catch the creature in the back before she could land on her feet. The creature screamed again above the waves of energy. She hit face first on the ground again. But this time, she was back on her feet instantly; looking even more worse for wear.

"Bugger," Cye cursed. "What does it take to beat this thing?"

Rowen ran forward and swung at the creature with his bow. Even though wounded, Katara's cat-like reflexes were still with her and she easily dodged and blocked each swing before getting a few of her own in. Within seconds, Rowen was knocked down; and before Cye could react, he was down with him.

With a growl, Katara turned to her next victim. She would break these clowns down one by one if that's what it took. Whatever was needed to keep them from reaching the throne room.

Kento's eyes grew to twice their size when he saw he was next in line for a pounding. With the scream of a jungle cat, she lunged at him. Kento saw the monster flying towards him, but at the same time, the images of Katara having taken all that beating thus far stayed in his head. Though always up for a fight, Kento's gut instinct told him he was badly out powered. In a last second attempt to avoid the attack, Kento backed up several paces--only to trip the in the bulky armor and fall on his backside, naginata still in hand. Now unable to flee, Kento's last resort was to hold his staff tightly and close his eyes.

He opened them again when he felt a jerk on the weapon in his hands, but no other attack. A small, squeaky noise slipped out of Katara's surprised mouth before a trickle of black blood oozed from the corner. The creature coughed and staggered in her place. She couldn't move much, however, for the blade at the tip of Kento's staff had embedded itself right in her midsection. All Kento could do was sit there in shock as the twitching animal body hovered over him. He stared at the black ooze dripping from where the blade had entered flesh.

Katara blinked and then shook her head. Kento began to panic again. After all that, she was recovering! She now had a hold on his staff as well and was attempting to pull herself off it.

"Do something Kento. If she gets her claws on you, you're finished," came a voice in his head.

The bearer of Hardrock didn't have much choice at that point. He tightened his grip on his weapon and stared the enemy down.

"Iron Rock Crusher!"

Kento had never used his sure kill that way before. He wasn't sure what would happen. The entire ground started to shake from a tremor that felt like it was right beneath him--or it was him. Katara's burning, yellow eyes went wide as she could feel the power build up. She tried desperately to claw at the source of the attack, but the naginata put forth a sudden burst of power and she was thrown off the blade as if it had exploded inside her.

Kento had to almost consciously will the ground to stop shaking before the attack would die down. The whole thing left him a bit bewildered as he stood. The rest of the Ronins joined him in carefully approaching Katara's body once again. Their weapons were drawn in caution, but it looked as though she was not out to trick them again.

Katara's eyes stared without focus. Her shallow breathing sounded flooded with the blood pooling up in the back of her throat. On her stomach, where the blade had gone through, was no longer a stab wound, but a great gaping hole also pooled with blood that spurted with her heart beat. A few of the Ronins had to turn away from the gruesome site. Cye had to go throw up his lunch. It was Ryo who dared get the closest this time. The look on his face was set firm as he pointed a blade at her throat.

"Now," he said to her. "Tell us where Robyn is and we promise not to let you suffer any more."

Katara seemed to regain her senses at that point, for she sneered and spat at them.

"You can't destroy me," she insisted. "Even now the dark forces of this world are working to make me whole again. I am a part of it, you see. You cannot ever defeat me here."

Sage's eyes widened as he looked at the gaping wound. It did indeed appear to be growing smaller before his eyes.

Ryo, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. He growled and raised a sword as if to run her through. He brought the tip down and it stabbed the ground a hair's distance from Katara's body.

"Tell me where she is!" he demanded with more force in his voice and the other sword ready.

Katara just smiled as she bit back some of the pain surging through her. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but was cut off from the fluids gathering in her lungs. Ryo leaned closer to hear her whispers. What he got was a clawed hand around the neck while the other one punched him in the stomach. Now it was Ryo's turn to cough and fight for air. The force of the punch even reached through his armor and Ryo fell to his knees over her, Katara's deadly grip still on his throat. How could she still have so much power after being so badly wounded?

Katara laughed through the blood as she pulled his face closer.

"You should be thanking us for sucking the life out of her," she rasped to the gasping Wildfire. "If she were to live, your little precious could one day destroy you and all your world more than we ever could."

Ryo clawed fruitlessly at the grip on his throat. The other Ronins just watched helplessly, afraid she would snap his neck if they tried to interfere. Rowen noticed Ryo's hand grabbing his sword and planting it in the ground on the opposite side of the first one. Katara didn't seem to notice, however. She was too busy taunting Ryo and enjoying the look on the young man's face as he fought to regain air back into his lungs.

"You cannot protect her and the rest of humanity at the same time. What do you have to say about that, hero?"

Ryo struggled to speak. "F-f-f--"

"What was that?" Katara asked, a bit amused. She loosened her grip a little, curious as to what kind of retort he had after her accusations.

"F-f-flare..." Ryo rasped weakly. "...up....now..."

Katara froze as she suddenly felt a power skyrocket. The two swords embedded in the dirt on either side of her instantly ignited and a spiral of pure fire shot from the ground, engulfing them both in flames. The other four Ronins were forced to retreat several paces from the searing heat of the inferno. In the middle of the burning hurricane, Katara's silhouette could be seen. Her high pitched screams echoed in their ears as the form burned away into nothing.

With the threat gone, the fire died down, leaving only one form where there had been two. Ryo was crouched on one knee where he stayed still for several seconds. Finally, he reclaimed his swords from the ground, standing as he did so. His friends ran up to him to see if he was alright. He looked a little winded and, perhaps, a little bothered. But physically fine.

"Wow Ryo, that was amazing," Rowen shouted. "How did you know that would work?"

Ryo, for his part, ignored the question. He sighed outwardly as he returned his weapons back to their sheaths on his back.

"Come on guys, we still have more to do," he announced and started to lead the way.

The others, a bit thrown off by his reply, followed after him. It was Sage who finally got enough nerve to walk up beside him.

"Ryo, what did she say to you?" he asked lowly.

"Nothing," Ryo insisted, though he sounded almost disheartened and confused in a way. "It doesn't matter. The important thing is to find Robyn right now."

Sage let it go with that. Yes, that was the important thing. There would be plenty of time for more questions if needed after this was all over.

Luna sat on a bench between Artemis and Darien as she looked worriedly to the sky.

"Everything is getting so black," she voiced her concern out loud. "Almost the entire city has been swallowed up and soon we will, too."

"I'm sure Sailor Moon and the scouts can pull through," Darien assured her. "They'll beat them right in the nick of time as they always do. I have faith in them that they won't let us down."

Luna took in a deep breath. Her tail still twitched with agitation even as she tried to calm her fears. "You're right Darien. I will keep my faith in them, too. I just wish there was something we could do to help."

The three of them looked over when there was movement next to the big cement building. White Blaze was over there. He had stayed near the place where the warriors and scouts had disappeared to journey to the next realm. The big cat had flopped on his stomach and there waited loyally for his master to return. When the tiger suddenly got to his feet, he gained the attention of the only other three present in the city.

"I wonder how they got away with keeping that animal in the city," Darien wondered as he watched the tiger. "I would think it would be dangerous to the public."

"He seemed very well mannered to me," Luna insisted.

"Sounds like someone's got a crush," Artemis teased.

"Oh really now," Luna huffed and lifted her nose indignantly into the air. But she glanced with concern back to the tiger who was beginning to pace restlessly.

White Blaze circled the place where the warriors and scouts had stood a several minutes before. Then he moved over to the wall of the building and pawed at the place that still held Cye's scratch marks. He pressed his nose against it and then let out a catish whine.

"I hope that doesn't mean trouble," Luna worried.

"Relax Luna, everything will be fine, you'll see," Artemis tried to comfort her.

Despite what the white cat said, Luna continued to look worriedly as the tiger began to pace again.

_I hope they're okay. Please hang in there Scouts, the world is depending on you._

"Where are you taking us?" Sailor Uranus demanded for the third time. They had been following the eldest of the Amazon Duo for far longer than she felt they should have. Where ever they were meant to go, they should have been there by now. This was starting to smell really fishy. It almost felt like they were going around in circles.

Katana bit back a growl. In truth, Uranus' suspicions weren't that far off.

"I told you before," she insisted. "We're going around the back so we can sneak into Ebony's chambers and catch her off guard."

In reality, she was stalling for time for her mistress. That was the plan, to merely hold the two groups off until Lady Ebony had gathered enough energy to fully execute the plan and get rid of all these meddlers. In the meantime, Katana hoped her battle happy sister was doing the same thing instead of confronting the group of male warriors in combat which was what she was no doubt doing anyway.

"How can she tell? Everything looks the same," Jupiter whispered to Mars, who nodded. "We could be walking right into a trap and we would never be able to tell."

Katana's sharp ears easily picked up the comment. She would have to do something fast to win back the scouts' confidence or the plan would be ruined.

"Look out!" Sailor Mars cried as she grabbed Sailor Moon and forced her to the ground.

A black ghost-looking figure swept over their heads mere milliseconds later.

"What is that?" Sailor Jupiter cried as she went to a defensive stance.

"It's the Black Banshee," Katana explained. "A guardian of this realm."

It looked similar to the shadow monsters they had fought earlier in Toyama, though this one looked more ghost like and had a far more foreboding presence.

"Death to all outsiders who enter here," relayed the banshee in a high voice. And she began to scream.

It was a high pitched, brain shattering screech and the scouts all fell down in abject pain, clutching their skulls as if they would explode from the pressure. Katana stepped calmly past the writhing, crying bodies and up to the banshee, unaffected by her attack.

"Stop it!" she cried as she flung an energy blast at the creature.

The attack ceased as the Black Banshee reeled in surprise.

"What?!" the banshee hissed. "You are one of us! How dare you betray the Mistress!"

"Her evil manipulations control me no more!" Katana announced self-righteously. She gathered a larger amount of energy, ten times greater than the one before. The creature of the darkness shrieked its last as it was engulfed in the attack.

The Sailor Scouts stayed down where they were, marveling at the mere power Katana wielded on their behalf.

"The plan will not be completed!" Kanata yelled over the roar of energy. "You and your mistress will fall!"

The Dark Banshee and all her fearful powers were snuffed out as Katana calmly walked over to the nearest scout--Sailor Uranus--and offered her a hand.

"Come," she said. "Were getting closer."

There was still skepticism is the blonde's eyes, but there was also doubt. And perhaps even a little bit of acceptance.

Katana smiled to herself as they continued on. That was perfect. She had earned enough trust now to keep them following her until all preparations were complete. And then her Mistress of the night would come and destroy them all and how glorious their conquest would be!

"I hope prolonged exposure to this place doesn't result in permanent eye damage," Kento commented after the Ronins had been traveling for several minutes. "After all this black, we might never be able to face the brightness of day again."

"Wow, where'd you get the vocabulary, Kento," Rowen elbowed him playfully. "I think you've seen too much of the learning channel. Maybe you should--Ooof!"

Rowen was cut off as he ran into a large rock that was protruding out of the ground about chest height.

"What is it, Rowen?" Ryo stopped and turned around to see what happened.

"Ouch! There's some dangerous obstacles hiding in this place," Rowen replied. "We're going to get killed just because we can't see where we're going."

"What kind of rock is that?" Sage wondered as he stepped closer to it.

It looked semi transparent. He lifted his no-datchi to reflect a bit of light on the find. Some of the closer Ronins jumped back as the silhouette of a figure inside the crystallized object was illuminated.

"There's somebody in there!" Kento exclaimed.

"Robyn!" Cye cried, pressing both palms on the enchanted object.

In the dim light he could barely make her out, but there was no mistaking who it was. She was curled up inside with her arms crossed over her folded up knees. Her face looked placid except for her eyebrows which seemed to be furrowed as if she were having a bad dream. The Ronins all stared at the figure in horror and bewilderment. She seemed frozen and untouchable within that crystal shell. Like she had always belonged there and that was where she would always stay.

"Back out of the way," Sage ordered as he approached, no-datchi still in hand. "I think I may be able to get her out."

The others moved back obediently. Sage put a hand on the crystal rock and clenched his jaw. He could just feel the energy pulse throbbing from that thing. Was this Robyn's energy? Was this how they harvested it from her? Sage had no doubt in his mind that this crystal prison that held her was also meant to be her coffin. He had to get her out of there.

Sage stood back and positioned his sword right in front of him with the blade pointing upward. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the energy that would be needed to free his friend safely. He reached out to the energy beacon before him, feeling it's power and weak points. To free her, he had to do this attack perfect.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," came a smooth, slimy female voice from the darkness. "Not if you want your little friend to survive."

The Ronins turned instantly to the defensive as none other than Lady Ebony herself stepped into the dim light. All three pairs of arms were folded as she looked the ronins down with a confident grin.

"Your rescue attempt, though noble, is hopeless," Lady Ebony continued. "That crystal is her life now. Shattering it will kill her in the process.

"Then you had better get her out of there fast," Ryo threatened, brandishing his katana. "Before we shatter you."

The Dark Mistress hardly looked worried at the threat.

"If you wish to be reunited with your friend so badly, then I suggest you join her!"

Quick as a snake can strike, one of Lady Ebony's arms hurled a dark cloak at the surprised warriors. Before the Ronins could even react, they felt themselves sucked into an everlasting darkness from which they would never return.

"Wait," Sailor Mars called to the group. Everyone paused and looked her way. "I sense a dark power coming in that direction. Come on!"

_Oh no!_ Katana thought. _It's still too soon! They can't find the mistress yet!_

The scouts were quick to follow after their comrade as Sailor Mars ran off to follow her instincts. Something dark and sinister was definitely close. Katana ran fruitlessly after them. But it was too late now. She may have to turn and fight the group if they found the throne room.

Sailor Mars, indeed, seemed to have stumbled upon some sort of chamber. She paused at her find as her friends gathered around her. This was it. They had finally found what they were looking for. Right in the midst of the chamber stood a slender silhouette.

"So, you've finally found me," Lady Ebony chuckled.

"You bet Lady, and now you're going down!" Sailor Jupiter retorted. "We're not going to let you destroy Earth!"

"We'll see if you can stop me," Ebony replied calmly. "But first, you will have to defeat my personal bodyguards."

From behind her, in the darkness, five pairs of eyes glowed red. The scouts all gasped as five forms wearing familiar mystical armor stepped forth with the intent to kill anything that got into the path of their new mistress.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Myriad of Nightmares

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Twelve: Myriad of Nightmares

Robyn fought her way through an endless sea of heavy, thick darkness. It was like trying to walk through quick sand. The harder she fought, the more it seemed to pull her in. She could hear different voices from her past taunting her, hating her. All the negative energy around her was sucking her further into this everlasting nightmare. Why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she wake up? She could feel her life, her strength, her will to live draining away.

No! She couldn't die this way! Not so soon! Not when she finally found something to live for. When that streak of stubbornness ran through her, that was when Robyn could feel that maggoty, parasitic creature resting in her consciousness bring forth a full attack.

She was suddenly standing alone. It was very quiet and very empty. Out of the mists of this nothingness stepped five familiar figures. Robyn gasped in delight. Her friends had come! They had found her! Everything was going to be okay. She ran towards them, but stopped when she realized something was off. The guys; her friends didn't greet her in the same fashion. They all just stood there with dead gazed in their eyes. That was when Robyn was startled to realize that each one held a weapon. The same weapons each one wielded when in full armor though they weren't geared up this time. Simply in their every day clothes with blades all pointed at her.

Robyn could feel her heart being drained of all hope and feeling. She watched dumbly and with wide eyes as Cye, in the lead of the group, ran towards her with yari positioned on intent to run her through. Robyn's mind screamed for him to stop and, at the same time, her body suddenly reacted to the attack.

* * *

"What?!" Sailor Uranus cried as she saw the five armored forms standing behind Lady Ebony. The faces of the armor's wearers couldn't be seen through the masks, but where the eyes were they glowed red.

"It can't be," Sailor Mercury gasped. "They--they've turned against us."

"Believe it," Sailor Mars growled. "I knew you couldn't trust those jerks! They were trying to trick us into helping them all this time."

"Yes, weren't they so clever?" Lady Ebony smiled smugly at them as she traced the contours of Strata's arm with her fingers. "Such good boys. And now they will kill all of you--the only things left in my way!"

Several members of the Sailor Scouts faltered as the Ronin armors stepped towards them. Sailor Moon, however, stepped forward with a determined look on her face.

"I don't care!" she announced to the Mistress of Darkness. "I don't care how many people you have on your side or how many tricks you have. We're still fighting for our home and the people we love. We will beat you!"

Lady Ebony just continued to smile. "We'll see."

The armors stepped out as if by remote control and brandished their weapons. The Sailor Scouts readied themselves for the fight that was coming.

* * *

_What if I just disappeared?_

A slightly disoriented Sage wandered through a world that was foggy and unclear. It lacked reality and substance as if it were a dream. Where was he? How did he get there? And where was his armor?

_It would be so easy._

Sage looked down to see he was dressed in his regular shirt and slacks. Where was Halo? He sensed he was somehow cut off from it, yet he wasn't alarmed. Why?

_No one would notice if I left._

Wasn't there a battle he was fighting? Didn't he need his armor? Wasn't he in danger? Where was he?

_No one would ever care._

"Look, here comes that girl," a young girl's voice reached his ears.

Sage spun around to see three young girls only a few yards away from him. Two of them were standing together as one talked to the other. The third was walking slowly up towards them. Sage blinked at the third. Was that.....Robyn? She looked twelve, maybe thirteen. It was a bit hard to tell it was her at all with that uncharacteristic dead pan look on her face and the fact that her head was bowed down as she approached.

"Pretend you don't see her," the first girl whispered to the second.

The two girls turned their backs as the young redhead passed.

"I don't like her, she's weird," the second girl whispered, though obviously she didn't wait until the younger Robyn was out of ear shot.

"Yeah," relayed the second. "I heard strange things happen and bad luck follows her where ever she goes. It's like she's jinxed or something."

"Or cursed! I'm not going near her! She might rub some of that off on me. It would be better if she just left this school. We don't need her kind here."

Sage stood stiff and clenched his fists to his side as the girls walked off laughing and tittering. He understood all too well how cruel and unforgiving children could be. How he had been teased and avoided as a child because of his looks. How they feared the stench of difference they felt about him and those piercing eyes of his that made them all run away. Those cursed physical traits he was powerless to change and was forced to even grow out his hair to cover his appearance because of them.

_There is no place for me here._

The blonde snapped back to attention when he noticed the younger Robyn was walking his way. That voice he thought he was just hearing; he knew where it was coming from now.

_Where do I belong?_

"Robyn," Sage said gently as she approached.

But the young girl didn't seem to hear him. She neither looked up or even slowed her pace. It was like he wasn't even there. He did not exist at this time. It was just an apparition of the past come to haunt him for a time. Or perhaps, he was haunting it. It was so hard to tell which one of them was real in this place. And it was hard on him to endure the fact that neither of these dreams could meet together so he could assure this little girl that she would be okay.

The disheartening scene faded away and Sage spun around as he heard Robyn, the present Robyn's abject scream of horror.

* * *

Sailor Uranus grunted as she hit into Sailor Neptune and both were sent flying to the ground. The armors had attacked hard and fast and, since the girls had never fought anything like this before, they were grasping at straws on how to counterattack. Uranus' side stung smartly from being hit with the butt of Strata's golden bow. Now the mammoth armor was standing over the two outer senshi, ready with an arrow for the final blow.

"Hey you bully!" Sailor Venus shouted as she ran to join the fight. "Take this! VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"

Before the attack could connect with her opponent, the Armor of Halo jumped in the way. Sailor Venus gasped as the light attack was easily absorbed.

"What the?!" Sailor Uranus cried as she tried to get to her feet.

"H-How can they do that?" Neptune asked in awe.

"They're monsters!" Uranus growled.

The Armor of Halo powered up its no-datchi and sent a similar energy blast back at them. The three scouts all cried out as they were hit and defeated.

* * *

Kento stayed crouched in a defensive position as he cautiously scanned the layout in all directions. Who was it that had brought him here and took away his armor? And when were they going to attack? His new environment felt strangely empty even though he could hardly see what lay five feet in front of him. He tensed, waiting for the first strike from his hiding opponent.

He didn't get one. Instead, a fearful cry broke his steady stance as Kento recognized the voice coming from the unknown.

"Robyn?"

His entire surroundings seemed to suddenly change into an unfamiliar city as a scared Robyn ran around the corner in torn jeans and a sweater. She looked so frightened; panicked. Mere microseconds later, a larger male form jetted around the building after her. Kento couldn't believe his eyes. It was that Jason punk! The guy who could morph himself into that beast-dog thing. The guy who worked for and was killed by Nago, the Demon Prince. What was he doing here and alive?!

Kento stepped forward to catch Robyn in her flight and to face off with this creep that was chasing her. His eyes grew wide as Robyn's apparition passed right through his body. So, too did Jason's. He turned around to witness as the scene continued on behind him as if he weren't even there. Really, he wasn't. Or, he hadn't been at the time this event had happened.

Jason quickly caught up to the smaller redhead and shoved her in the back so she fell face down on the sidewalk. Her cry of pain and surprise stung Kento's ears as she slid forward on the cement, tearing some skin off her face. What was this he was watching? Had this really happened at some point in the past? Why was he being shown this? Was someone trying to play with his head?

Jason haughtily strolled over and stamped his foot solidly on Robyn's back.

"Like it or not, Red," he told her. "You're the only one we can use now. It has to be you."

"You can't make me do it!" Robyn screamed at him as she tried to jump back on her feet.

Jason was quick to respond by hitting her again, causing the girl's light form to go flying several more feet before landing and sliding on her side.

"Why you cowardly bastard," Kento growled at Jason. "Is beating up girls the only thing you can do!?"

He swung wildly at the taller, American figure. But his fists never connected. Jason stalked on unharmed while Kento was left to seethe at his uselessness.

"You were supposed to be my friend," Robyn choked out as the tall young man stood over her. "How can you do this to me; to us!? We're all going to die for that monster! Can't you see what he's doing to you?"

The dark haired young man just glared heartlessly at her. "Nago has given me more power than I ever dreamed of and there's no way I'm going to let you or anyone else take that away from me!"

He roughly pulled Robyn's bruised, limp body up by the shirt and then tucked her under one arm. "Come on Red, you're the last one to go through the ceremony. Then our Master's reign can begin."

Kento watched with trembling fists as his friend was carried away. Ceremony? It was the one Robyn told them about when she was forced to feel the dark power of the Prince of Demons running through her body to become one of those who would summon him. She had spoken of it like it was the most terrifying ordeal she had ever been through. And now it was happening to her all over again. Kento was powerless to stop it as Robyn was carried off into an old warehouse where her soul's torture would begin.

The bearer of Hardrock wanted to follow when he heard Robyn scream from another direction. This voice felt far more real and immediate and Kento ran off to find it. He pledged to himself that he would use every ounce of power and strength within him to prevent what he saw from ever happening to her again.

* * *

"What do we do, Jupiter?" Sailor Mercury worried as they were faced down by the Armor of Hardrock.

The taller, brunette scout clenched her teeth into a snarl. "One thing's for sure," she replied stubbornly. "I'm not going down without a fight!"

She raced towards the possessed armor, flipping over it and then landing a kick into it from behind. The armor seemed to hardly feel the attack. Without even looking in her direction it shot out an arm and sent Sailor Jupiter to the ground.

"Jupiter!" Sailor Mercury cried as she ran to her friend's aid. She had been hit pretty hard and she looked in pain.

Sailor Mercury steeled her gaze on her new foe. Whether or not she still had doubts about them, she had to protect her friends.

"Okay, you're asking for it," her voiced trembled a bit despite the warning. "SHINE AQUA--"

She was cut off as the orange armor merely pointed its staff at them and the ground was ripped up beneath their feet. Some of the other scouts who saw what happened wanted to help, but they had troubles of their own.

* * *

Rowen felt as if he were floating in a black sky. A sky without any stars. It had to be. There was nothing solid anywhere around him. He had to be in the sky. But how did he get clear up there? And without the help of Strata? Why had his armor abandoned him in such a place? Where had Strata gone?

The sound of a siren quickly placed solid ground under his feet and a visible environment around him. The lights from an ambulance flashed as the white vehicle drove away. Rowen watched it leave in confusion. Why was he seeing this? Who were they taking away? He glanced to the side and immediately came face to face with new surroundings. He was now inside the house he had been standing outside of within the blink of an eye.

In the middle of the living room sat a little red haired girl. She had a doll in her hand which seemed to have her full attention as she straightened every hair on the toy's head and fingered its facial features. Rowen cocked his head to the side, wondering what he was looking at and why he was seeing this. That little girl looked so familiar......why?

Heavy footsteps resounded in the quiet room and Rowen looked up to see a man he did recognize and his gut turned when he finally realized what he was witnessing.

"This is all your fault," the man said as his shadow fell over the child. "Your mother is dead because of you. Because you made her life miserable."

"I didn't do it," the little red haired girl replied quietly to her doll. "Mama did it herself."

"You..." her father seethed. "You'll go straight to hell for this sin!"

The little girl, Rowen did not doubt it was Robyn now, did not reply. She merely stood up with her back facing her father, doll still in hand.

"You little brat!" Robyn's father yelled. "How dare you ignore me!!"

He backhanded the little girl, sending her sprawling to the floor. Rowen was frozen in his spot, appalled that someone could do something like that to a child. But little Robyn took the beating soundlessly as she got back to her knees.

"Why should I care?!" she screamed back. "No one else's mothers hurt them! She didn't love me! How could she be my mother?"

Her father's face turned red as his blood boiled. He let out a cry as he raised an angered fist to strike her again.

"Stop it!" Rowen demanded as he ran to catch the offending fist in his before it could strike. But the second he tried to connect with the apparition, it disappeared and he was left, befuddled and alone, in the dark once more.

Then, there was that scream.

* * *

Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon stood back to back against the Armor of Torrent and the Armor of Wildfire which stood on either side of them.

"Everyone's getting their butts kicked!" Mars exclaimed. "We can't penetrate those stupid armors!"

"We can't give up now," Sailor Moon encouraged. "There has to be some way to beat them!"

Just then, Torrent attacked. Mars gasped as Sailor Moon tried to dodge the yari as it was swung at her. With the fire senshi's attention diverted, the Armor of Wildfire jumped in and slashed her side with one of its katanas. Sailor Mars cried out in pain as she grabbed her side and stumbled backwards.

"REI!" Sailor Moon cried as she watched her friend fall to the ground; a crimson stain decorating the side of her fuku.

Sailor Moon stared hard at her adversaries. The ones who dare try to hurt her friends and destroy her home.

"All right, that's it!" she cried and pulled out her staff. "You will NOT get away with this! I will stop you!"

As she spoke, Torrent was already powering up its sure kill.

* * *

"Mommy, can I help you wash the dishes?"

Ryo stumbled in this startling new atmosphere. Where had this kitchen come from? It looked so old style and retro. Even worse than his grandmother's. How did he get here? Where was the battle? What was going on?

"Sure you can Robyn."

_Robyn?_

Ryo turned his head to the scene at the kitchen sink. There stood a motherly looking woman wearing an apron with her yellow-brown hair pulled up in a messy bun. Her arms were submerged in a sink full of soapy water as she scrubbed the dinner plates. At her feet, a small girl with wild red hair pushed one of the chairs from the table inch by inch to the sink.

_Robyn?_ Ryo wondered again. That bright red hair was almost a given. Was this really her? How old could she be? No more than four or five, he guessed.

The little girl finally reached her destination and gave a small grunt as she climbed up on the chair and then pulled herself to her feet so she could peek over the counter at the murky water. Her green eyes shined bright with joy that she was able to be so helpful.

All Ryo could do was blink. If that really was Robyn than this woman was.....her mother?

The dark haired youth walked up to the pair almost in a daze. Neither seemed to notice him and, in the back of his mind, he kind of expected it though he still wasn't sure where he was exactly. He couldn't stop staring at this woman standing now mere inches from him. He studied her face carefully as she held up dishes for her daughter to scrub. Ryo didn't remember anything of his own mother or what she looked like. Was this really Robyn's mom? She looked so....normal. She looked sane and level headed. She looked......

Ryo felt his heart freeze as the woman's face suddenly changed as if she were possessed by someone else. A hateful sneer overtook her features as her hand hovered over the little girl's head. In the blink of an eye, the child's head was in the water with her mother's arm stubbornly holding it down. Ryo was powerless to do anything but watch on in pure horror as the little body kicked and struggled to break free. On the woman's face was a horrid look of satisfaction that would forever haunt him in his dreams.

The kicks were getting weaker when a door somewhere suddenly slammed. Robyn's mother instantly let go and the little girl fell to the hard floor, gasping and sobbing. She shook her head to get the soapy water out of her eyes and gazed up at her mother who still held that look of hatred on her face. Little Robyn gasped and shied away, huddling up in a corner out of her mother's reach. The terrible woman looked almost as if she would pursue when a man--Robyn's father-- stepped into the room.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

Robyn's mother looked at him with a steeled gaze and then stalked out of the room. Her father looked after the woman and then down at his daughter. The child was still curled up in a terrified ball, hastily wiping away water that dribbled down her face and soaked into her clothes. Her body was wracked with fearful sobs and hic-ups. Robyn's father just glanced idly in her direction before leaving the room as well.

Ryo was beside himself as he was left alone with the crying child. How could they do that? How could they not care? He approached the little girl shaking with wide eyes and knelt beside her.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I can't help you. I can't comfort you. But during that same time, I was a lonely child, too. I know what that feels like. We've found each other now though. We don't have to be lonely or afraid any more. We can take care of each other so we'll never have to be alone again."

He stretched out his hand to her in hopes of somehow connecting. In that instant, the apparition of Robyn's childhood disappeared. Ryo jumped to his feet again as a scream reverberated in his head and he was swung around in the darkness to see Cye standing there with a frozen look on his face. The bearer of Torrent's mouth quivered as his eyes stayed glued on the scene he was witnessing.

The other Ronins appeared by his side as well; all called together by the same sound. They each followed Cye's transfixed gaze to share was he was witnessing.

* * *

Cye couldn't move from his spot. He had seen it all; the entire scenario. Forced to witness as five reflections of he and his friends--copies of the ronins--appeared before Robyn. She had greeted them happily until they all turned on her. Cye cried out as a mirror of his own self led the attack. He was never heard and was somehow stuck to his spot. Robyn had cried out in surprise as her once thought to be trusted friends were upon her. There was a flash of red, and then the scene wasn't the same anymore.

* * *

Robyn gave a blood curdling scream--the same one that had called the real ronins together. She stared, shaking at the crimson liquid staining her hands and arms. The five figures before her all fell lifeless to the ground and pools of blood gathered around their bodies. Tears stung her eyes as she trembled from the sight of Cye's bleeding body, dead at her feet.

She fell to her knees as she felt the remainder of her strength leave her. This was what the dark presence had been searching her subconscious for. Her hands clenched into trembling fists as she leaned into the pool of blood mixing from the fallen warriors as it gathered around her. Hot, stinging tears feel freely like salty rivers down her cheeks. This was her biggest fear; her greatest agony.

"NOOO!" she cried to the still darkness. "I didn't mean to! I didn't mean for this to happen! I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I killed you! I'm so sorry!"

"Robyn, we're okay. We're right here," Rowen wanted to yell to her. But he was frozen in his spot. He had even lost the power over his own voice.

The others instantly found this out, too in their attempts to reach her.

"I do nothing but hurt everyone close to me! Why did they have to die!? Why do I have to be alone again!? It's always my fault!"

Robyn continued to sob miserably over the dead bodies and there wasn't a single thing the real ronins could do to reach her. She seemed just as untouchable as her younger visions had been. But this one had to be the real Robyn. How could they get to her?

_What if I just disappeared?_

Sage's eyes grew wide as Robyn's previous thoughts reverberated in his head.

_It would be so easy._

Did she still think that way?

_No one would ever care._

"I would."

Sage had not actually spoken the words, but he might as well have. Robyn, still on her knees, gasped and snapped her head around to look their way. The ronins all collectively held their breaths as Robyn stared at them all with tear filled eyes. She had heard! She could see them!

The second that contact was established, however, the group of warriors were instantly pulled away. It felt similar to a powerful shove in the chest as each were thrown back to the reality they had left.

* * *

Kento blinked as he felt the full solidness of his body once again. He raised the battle mask on his armor and looked around. Now he was back in the throne room? What was going on? He looked at the torn up ground to see Sailor Venus, Uranus, and Neptune, battered and bruised, trying to get to their feet. What on earth had happened to them?

Rowen swung his head from side to side. He was back in his armor again. But, back from where? Where had he been? What happened to everyone? They were all together for one second and then they were all torn apart again.

At his side, his gaze met with Sage's who looked just as bewildered as he felt. A few yards away lay the pained and moaning pair of Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter. They looked as though they had been fighting a whole army. Who did that to them?

Ryo almost stumbled as he felt his body and spirit merge and center themselves once again. He was back in his armor now? Why was his battle mask down? He willed it away and the first thing to catch his eyes was the trail of blood decorating one of his blades. Ryo then looked over at the fallen Sailor Mars and suddenly everything made perfect, sickening sense.

Cye awoke to a powered up yair in his hands. He saw Sailor Moon in its line of fire and gasped, pulling the weapon upward as it spewed out energy. The power of the Super Wave Smasher shot harmlessly above them all and Cye breathed out in relief. Crisis averted. Or.....was it just beginning?

"MOOOOON......"

_What is she doing?_ Both Ryo and Cye thought to themselves.

"PRINCESS...."

That sounded like an energy call. Who was she going to attack?

"ELIMINATION!!!!"

Ryo cried out in surprise and pain as he was suddenly engulfed in white, searing power.

"RYO!" Cye called as his friend and comrade was blasted several yards away where he landed and his body lay motionless.

"What did you do that for!?" Cye then demanded of the Moon Princess. That was the first time she could see his eyes and Sailor Moon found herself baffled at the indignation burning in them. "What did we ever do to you??"

* * *

Having been almost forgotten amongst the confusion and the fighting, Lady Ebony just stood there in complete shock and surprise. She had lost hold of her iron puppets! She had locked away the spirits of the five warriors inside the dark crystal so they might also know the agony of the nightmares it produced. But the crystal had spewed them back out and the hold she had on them was cut off. How? Why? The dark rock protruding from the ground seemed to catch her attention in answer to the questions and Lady Ebony's eyes grew wide.

Unbelievable! It wasn't possible! Yes, the girl had to have some sort of power, but there was no way in creation she had THAT much power. Yet, even as she denied this, the crystal began to grow and crackle as energy built up inside it.

* * *

"How dare you?!" Sailor Jupiter growled as she helped Sailor Mercury to her feet. "How can you help bring destruction to your own world?"

"Come again?" Rowen asked, confused. "Your friend is the one that tried to blow away Ryo."

Sailor Jupiter was rendered speechless. What was up with these guys? Did they think she was an idiot? Did they think they could get away with it by acting like they didn't know what was going on?

Rowen and Sage were looking over at Kento for answers. The bearer of Hardrock just shrugged. He was just as clueless as everyone else.

"Hey dudes?" he then asked as a thought hit him. "You don't suppose.....we did all this, did we?"

The three ronins looked around at the destruction. Each had to admit, the damage done looked like it was wreaked from their powers. But none of them recalled doing anything. Nor did they notice a chilled wind that was beginning to pick up now.

* * *

Ryo grunted as he struggled to regain control over his stunned body. Every part of him tingled with numbness. What kind of power was that? It wasn't like anything he had encountered from the Dynasty. Their attacks were always so full of negative energy. This one felt so strange. So different. And as his armor tried to reflect the blast, he could feel its confusion. As if it wasn't sure what it was being hit with or how to cope. It had never been hit with pure energy before. It was an odd sensation, but definitely not a permanently crippling one.

"Hey Ryo, are you okay over there?" he heard Cye call to him.

"I'll live," Ryo replied as he stumbled back to his feet and looked around for his katanas. He was always losing those things. And when did it start to get so windy?

"H--how can he be standing?"

Cye turned back to a very confused Sailor Moon.

"The Moon Power is supposed to completely destroy anything with negative energy. But he's still there. It didn't even hurt him. That means......"

Now Cye was at a loss for words. Why did she look so lost and puzzled. He didn't get a chance to reply when a dramatically stronger gust of wind hit him in the back and almost knocked him, even with his heavy armor, right off his feet.

"What's going on? Where's that wind coming from?" Sage called above the roar. He was using an arm in attempts to protect his face from the flying debris.

"Guys, I don't want to do the whirlwind thing again," Kento has to quip.

"It's coming from that crystal!" Rowen exclaimed. "Look at it!"

Indeed, the black rock jutting up from the throne room floor was alight with energy. Blue arcs of electricity danced around it, growing more and more intense. And with it, so was the wind swirling around it.

Sailor Mars and Jupiter cried out as they were being swept away by the unnatural hurricane.

"Hold on!" Sage ordered as he grabbed Jupiter's hand. Mercury quickly held fast onto her. By now, Sage had to plant the blade of his sword into the ground just to keep himself from blowing away. Rowen was right next to him, hoping that the combined weight of both their armors would be enough to hold them steady.

"Just hold onto us!" he called to the girls.

"First you're trying to kill us, then you're trying to save us," Jupiter accused. "Would you guys make up your minds?"

At the same time, Kento with Venus, Neptune, and Uranus, had found a better shelter and were all taking cover behind a chunk of the floor that was raised up out of place, courtacy of the Iron Rock Crusher inflicted earlier.

Sailor Moon was stubbornly hanging onto the wounded Sailor Mars who was in no condition to do anything to save herself. Ryo and Cye quickly followed Sage and Rowen's example and anchored themselves down in hopes of protecting them somewhat from the powerful wind.

"Mistress, what are we going to do?" Katana asked of Lady Ebony. The cat creature had chosen to stay out of site during the battle and only now was gracing the scene. "What is causing this, my lady?"

"It's her," Ebony growled as she held up her multiple arms to protect her face from the wind. Her powers were the only thing preventing her from blowing away now. "I don't know how, but she's reverting the crystal's power. I will not have it!"

Lady Ebony threw a black ball of energy at the rock. It crackled and sizzled as it connected, but otherwise, accomplished nothing.

The wind continued to whistle and whirl around violently. Arcs of energy danced around all over the place. Above it all, a high pitched scream grew above the chaos. The sound grew more and changed. What sounded like one scream now sounded like many; along with cries and shouts and insults and incoherent mumbles.

"What's going on?" Sailor Moon cried as she continued to clutch Sailor Mars' body.

"It's Robyn," Cye said as he gritted his teeth. Only Ryo could really hear him. "All those nightmares we saw, she's experiencing them all at once. She's being forced to relive everything bad that's happened to her at the same time. It could destory her! I have to save her!"

"CYE!" Ryo called as Torrent suddenly took off. He tried to get up after him, but he couldn't leave the two girls unprotected; especially with one of them wounded by his own sword. Also, the wind was so powerful, he couldn't summon the strength enough to move against it. How Cye managed to fight his way forward was a mere marvel in itself.

"Robyn!" Cye called into the wind. The closer to the crystal he got, the stronger the wind fought against him. He took one more courageous step and was lifted right of his feet and sucked into the whirl wind churning violently around the crystal.

_Come on Cye, you can do it_, Kento mentally cheered his friend on. If anyone can get to her, you can buddy.

"What is that awful noise?" Sailor Venus demanded as she covered her ears. Those screams in the wind. They sounded like that of a child. A child in incredible agony. It was a sound more than any of their ears could bear and each felt like they were going to be ripped apart if it didn't cease. If that intense pain wasn't somehow lessened.

Cye had to force himself to stay focused, though it was quite difficult when one was spinning violently through the air. If he hit anything at this speed, it could very easily crack his armor and even his skull. But Cye would not let himself worry about such a trifle thing as his own well being while Robyn's life was still at stake. Stretching out his yari, he took careful aim and slammed the three pronged blade into the ground, making his body jerk to a stop. Hardly able to see, Cye wrapped his arms around the pulsating crystal and held on for dear life, praying all the way.

"Robyn!" he called to it. "Robyn, it's me. I'm right here. You have to fight it! You have to be strong! Don't let all the bad things control you! We're all here for you! Help us! Fight it Robyn! Please!"

Cye closed his eyes as hot tears spilled out. There was no way she heard him. How could she? Not with that living hell of a nightmare exploding around her. How could he get through that? Was she going to die from this? Was she going to die a victim of her nightmares? As a child, he had wanted to save Robyn from her pains and trials so badly. But he couldn't. He didn't have the power to stop it. Just like he didn't have the power to stop what was happening to her now. Everything he had ever did for her was for nothing. He was a failure as a protector. He was useless.

"Just watch, I'll be a hero someday."

Cye's eyes popped wide open as somehow, above the incessant screaming of the evil wind, a tender voice was heard. A voice that sounded and spoke words that were vaguely familiar. Though it seemed impossible, two small children were manifested in the storm. They were miraculously untouched by the galling wind tearing around them. There was a little girl with wild, thin red hair kneeling on the ground, playing in the dirt. Next to her crouched a boy with just as wild rusty brown hair. He had a stick in his hand and was drawing in the dust as well.

"I'll be big and strong and I'll beat up all kinds of monsters and bad things. Hi-yah!"

He swung his stick in the air as if it were some deadly weapon. The little girl, however, only laughed at her serious companion.

"But Cye-Kun," she reasoned. "You don't like to fight."

The rusty haired boy blinked. He looked over at the wild, red haired girl with the big green eyes and then slumped his shoulders, letting his stick drag on the ground.

"Do you think I can still be a hero without fighting?" he asked doubtfully as he plopped himself down in the dirt with his friend.

"I don't know. How do you stop bad guys if you don't fight them?" She then laughed again. "You're too gentle to fight anyone!" she teased and then punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" the little boy complained. He moodily rubbed his arm and then gave a deep sigh. "I still want to be a hero," he mumbled stubbornly.

"You can be my hero," the little girl smiled into his face.

"Really?" came the wide-eyed reply.

"Yeah. Even if you won't fight, I'll let you be my hero."

There was a span of silence.

"Robyn?" the little boy then spoke. "I would fight.....for you."

The entire congregation watched in silence as that simple scene seemed to tear away all the savageness of the storm and all the cries of anguish that were echoing in their souls.

Lady Ebony took a step back, eyes wide in a mixture of surprise and fear. She could feel her powers of the Black Crystal begin to dwindle. It wasn't working right any more. Something had changed it and the dark energy harvest had stopped. What was going on?? Surely the tides couldn't have been turned so easily with just this one thought!

Cye, arms still tight around the crystal, was blinking back tears. He had almost forgotten what he had said all those years ago. But Robyn had remembered. And she used that memory to fight off all the negativity around her. Something he had done finally made a difference.

The Bearer of Torrent blinked again when he felt a great power build up in his arms. The crystal! It felt like it was going to explode! Cye grabbed his yari and jumped back as fast and far as he could. Everyone was still watching with great anticipation as Robyn's body was slowly being pushed out of her dark prison. Her head and torso were freed when the crystal suddenly shattered and Robyn's body was thrown to the ground among the broken, black shards.

"There she is!" Sailor Uranus breathed as she suddenly jetted from her crude shelter and ran over to the body on the ground.

"Robyn!" Cye called as he scrambled to his feet.

"Stay back!" Uranus threatened as the other Ronins began to advance. "I won't let you have this girl! I won't allow you to use her to destroy our world."

"That goes for me, too." Sailor Neptune ran to join her companion.

The Ronins, for their part, just looked befuddled at what this woman was saying.

"What is she talking about?" Sage asked of Rowen.

The Bearer of Strata could only shrug.

"Well, I think we should take Robyn and get out of here," Halo continued.

"Sounds like a plan to me Sage."

The two fully armored young men started towards the two outer senshi.

"I said STAY BACK!" Sailor Uranus yelled. She slammed her fist to the ground and a large tremor raced from her touch under the surface to explode under the two ronin's feet.

"Sage! Rowen!" Ryo called as he went a few steps forward himself. What was going on? Why were these girls suddenly turning on them? Ryo didn't like the idea of fighting these women in fukus, but he would if it meant saving his friends.

"What are you crazy broads doing?" Kento screamed at them. "We didn't do anything to you! Why do you keep attacking us?"

"You're the ones who attacked us first!" Sailor Jupiter accused. She was holding up a beaten Sailor Mercury who was in a bad way from Hardrock's earlier attack. "You pretended to be on our side and you pretended to be Robyn's friend. But you were just using her! You're liars and you're traitors!"

Sailor Venus got up to join her friends. Her face looked more disappointed than angry.

"How dare you use people that way," she said in a cracking voice. She looked right over at Cye, the one she had been so sure couldn't be evil. But not any more. "As the Sailor Scout of love and friendship, I can't forgive this!"

In the background, Sailor Moon was holding a badly wounded Sailor Mars and there were tears in her eyes. How could they do this sort of thing to people? She couldn't forgive this either. She would fight them.

"Sailor Scouts!" Uranus hollered. "We must defend this world! Prepare to attack!"

"Stop...."

The voice was small, but it held enough authority to catch everyone's attention.

"Stop it."

A weakened Robyn slowly pulled herself to her feet and dragged her tired body out from behind where the Sailor Scouts were standing to defend her. She slowly inched forward until she was between the two parties.

"Robyn?" Sailor Venus called to her. "Are you okay?"

But the redhead returned the concern with a hard look.

"Don't you hurt them," she threatened. "Any of you. I won't stand for it."

"Robyn, you don't understand," Sailor Jupiter insisted. "They're not your friends, they--"

"No!" Robyn cut her off. Tears were starting to pool as she stood her ground. "They're good! They're better than any of you!" She swallowed and looked to the ground. "Each one of them is a better person than I'll ever be."

The scouts were all shocked into silence. The ronins were quiet as well; but for a far different reason as each felt a pang inside at the girl's words which they just couldn't quite understand.

"YOU!" Lady Ebony's scream of outrage broke it all. "HOW DARE YOU DESTROY MY PLAN!!"

Robyn watched, frozen, as a ball of black and electric blue energy shot towards her.

"Robyn!" Cye called, running for her.

Rowen, who was closer, actually shoved Sage out of the way as he raced for his friend and jumped right in the way of the energy blast.

"ROWEN!" Robyn screamed as she watched in horror while he took the blast.

The blue haired young man screamed as the black energy ripped through his body as if he were being electrocuted by a black current. The energy died down and Rowen's body stood there a moment, now stripped down to sub armor. He spasmed and twitched for a moment, and then collapsed.

"Rowen!" Robyn called again as he began to falter.

She wrapped her arms around his torso from behind and tried to slow his fall as his legs gave way. Robyn fell to her knees, her arms still around Rowen with his head lolling back against her shoulder.

"Rowen! Dude, are you okay?" Kento asked as he ran up to them.

Rowen just coughed and smiled weakly, looking over at a startled Cye.

"I beat you," he rasped to Torrent with a small grin. Hardly a shadow of his usual sarcastic smirk.

It quickly vanished, however, as Robyn hugged him around the shoulders and buried her face in his hair.

"Why?" she cried, dampening his hair with her tears. "Why do you risk so much just for me?"

Before anyone could give her an answer, Robyn suddenly started gagging as if someone had her by the throat. She was then surrounded by energy and lifted off the ground.

"You won't get away with this!" Lady Ebony vowed. She was now floating several yards above them all; pulling Robyn up towards her with her powers. "You've shattered my precious crystal and ruined everything! How dare you think you have power over me! I'll kill you for that! I'll drain you dry of every ounce of energy you have left."

"Robyn!" Ryo called after her.

"We've got to stop her, guys!" Kento announced.

"Yeah, but we've never dealt with this kind of magic before," Sage rationalized. "Just one hit stripped Rowen, not only of his strength, but of his whole armor and it will do the same thing to us."

"Well we can't just sit here!" Kento argued.

"Take me!" Cye called to the air above him, catching his comrade's attention. When the six armed woman didn't notice, he picked up a good sized rock and threw it at her. "I said take me, damnit!"

Lady Ebony gasped at the impudent assault. "How dare you, you little--"

"You need a certain type of energy, right?" Cye insisted. "Take mine. These armors are neither good nor evil. Either type of energy can flow through them. That should be adequate enough for you."

Lady Ebony paused in thought as Robyn continued to choke and fight against the invisible hands squeezing her neck. The Dark Mistress thought back to when her power drained that of the dark blue warrior. He was right! The power that these young men held had the capability to be manipulated either way. Sure, this new power source wasn't as perfect as that of the girl's, but with the crystal now destroyed....

"You will do then."

Ebony lifted her hold from Robyn, and the girl's body fell towards the ground. Sailor Jupiter and Venus quickly ran to catch her.

As for the ronins, all five of them were suddenly encompassed in separate energy balls and lifted off the ground. At the same time, the environment began to change drastically.

"What's going on?" Sailor Moon cried.

"Lady Ebony no longer has the power to keep the Out World stable," Sailor Neptune explained.

"We're back in Toyama," Mercury observed.

Indeed, they were now on top of that same building they were standing next to when they first left this world. With Earth's vast, empty sky about her, Lady Ebony took off through the air to finish her energy gathering in peace. The captured ronins trailed after her as she flew away.

"No!" Robyn struggled with her last bit of energy as she helplessly watched her friends being taken away. She fought to get back on her feet. "Bring them back!" She cried as she ran forward. But her weakened body gave out instantly and she fell to her knees.

Sailor Venus slowly approached as the young red head let her hair fall about her bowed face as she clenched her fists and let the tears fall.

"They're all I've got," she whispered.

Venus knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Robyn, we're still here. If we all put our powers together, I'm sure we can save them."

Robyn's head shot up and she looked at the taller blonde as if she had just casually blurted out the meaning of life and now everything made sense. Robyn slowly pulled herself to her feet again and started inching towards a new destination.

"Robyn?" Venus called. "Where are you going?"

The redhead soon found what she was looking for. A pile of broken crystal shards that were now present in this world as well without Lady Ebony's power to keep them in the other dimension. Robyn stared down at the broken fragments and then held her palm over them and closed her eyes.

"What is she trying to do?" Sailor Neptune wondered out loud.

"I think the fatigue has made her brain a bit unsettled," Jupiter commented skeptically.

Robyn ignored them as she concentrated. If only Lady Ebony knew what she had learned inside that crystal. If she only knew where her real power lied. It was her friends that gave her the strength to break apart from the crystal's hold on her mind. It was the thought of her friends that allowed her to over come the bad memories. And now, it would be her friends that would give her enough power to fight this evil.

The scouts watched in awe as the crystal shards suddenly took life and began piecing themselves back together. Before their eyes the Dark Crystal was made whole again and then it began to shrink in size. Robyn kept her eyes shut as it shrank to a mere two inches tall and then was absorbed into her chest. In this, Robyn began a transformation of her own. Black lightning and deep fog billowed out and engulfed the young girl. Energy sizzled and crackled and then vanished, leaving a very different looking person in its place.

Was that woman still Robyn? It was hard to tell. This female figure looked older and more developed. He hair had lengthened and deepened in color to a thick blood-like crimson. Around her new considerably more ample body was a low cut black dress, similar to that which Lady Ebony wore. In fact, she looked quite a lot like the Dark Mistress now, save for the fact that Robyn still didn't have six pairs of arms. But she did have the same dark eyes.

"Robyn?" Sailor Mercury called hesitantly. "That can't really be--"

The unfamiliar figure merely glanced at them before turned her gaze skyward.

_I'll save you now, my friends_, she thought. _You have all done so much for me, I'll use every drop of power in me to get you back. Hold on for me._


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The Lighter Side of Da...

Ronins Interrupted

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter Thirteen: The Lighter Side of Darkness

Tuxedo Mask looked up as blue lightning split the sky. The hulking blackness that had been swallowing the city around him had stopped and everything seemed to be suspended in time as different energies fell off balance.

"Look up there Darien," Luna called, pointing a paw towards the building's roof.

A dark figure was floating up in the sky. Then it started to fly away with five black energy balls tailing after it. White Blaze roared and then took off after the flying objects.

"What's going on?" Tuxedo Mask asked as he watched the tiger run away with matters of his own.

"Let's go to the roof, maybe the Scouts are up there," Artemis suggested.

The tall, caped man nodded. He picked up a cat in each arm and then proceeded to rebound up towards the top of the building.

"You can't be serious!" Sailor Jupiter called to Robyn. "You can't go out and fight that woman on your own!"

Robyn didn't reply. And she was about to do just what she had been told she couldn't when a caped man suddenly appeared in her face. He had a cat under each arm and Robyn screamed. She stumbled backwards, tripping on her new, black dress. Luckily, the changed young woman managed to catch herself before she fell on her rear.

"Jeeze! Quit doing that!" Robyn yelled at him. "Is this how you get your jollies; scaring unsuspecting young girls??"

Tuxedo Mask blinked at the unfamiliar figure. "Robyn?" he guessed.

Robyn bit her tongue. She had forgotten that she looked a bit different now. But before anyone could explain, a cry came from Sailor Moon.

"Sailor Mars! Sailor Mars!" the young blonde cried as she shook the girl in her arms. "Speak to me!"

The other scouts quickly ran over to their friend.

"She's gone into shock. Probably from the blood loss," Sailor Mercury surmised.

"Can't we take her to the hospital?" Sailor Venus worried.

"There's no one there," Sailor Jupiter growled back in return.

"There must be something we can do," Sailor Moon insisted with tears in her eyes. "I won't let her die!"

Robyn looked down at the scene. Rei needed help and fast. No, she needed a miracle to survive this one. Robyn looked skyward and then realized she just may know where to find one.

"Give her to me," she said quietly as she knelt next to them. Sailor Moon obediently did what she was told.

"Can you save her with your powers?" Venus asked.

Robyn shook her head. "No, I don't think I can with the kind of power I have. But I know someone who can."

Before anyone could ask who or how, Robyn had disappeared with Sailor Mars in her arms.

The Dark Mistress stopped on a building top partly engulfed by the darkness. One part of the roof was solid. The rest of it was a gaping maw as limitless and empty as space itself. Katana, also now stuck on Earth as the Out World had vanished, had trailed her mistress with her five new victims. The cat creature knew by now that her sister was dead. Killed by those horrid humans her mistress was now planning to drain. Not that she cared too much. Both of them were created by Lady Ebony for only her purposes. Once she got her full power back, she could no doubt easily remake Katara as she was before. So until then, she would continue to guard her mistress until she had sucked these warriors dry and gathered all her power once again.

Katana's pointed ears twitched as she felt a strange electricity in the air. Like a lightening bolt of power had just warped passed her. There was an energy to this feeling. One that felt so much like herself; yet unfamiliar.

Lady Ebony laughed out loud to herself as she raised her arms to the five floating balls and the power began to surge. Each of the ronins cried out as their armors began to radiate and spark. Energy was being sucked from them at a sudden and alarming rate. As if each was pouring out their sure kills in a never ending wave which would surely dip right into their souls and suck them from the insides out when the pool of energy ran dry.

Lady Ebony was ectatic. She couldn't believe the energy that was coming from these simple mystical talismans. Mere power orbs that were from where time began. Yet, they held stubbornness and spirit. An ever-lasting fighting energy that was meant to exist for all time. To gather it all at once might make her even more powerful than she had ever been even before Out World had been created.

"WHAT?!" Ebony cried as she felt a bolt of energy.

It shot like a black arrow through the scene and through two of the energy balls in its way. The crackling energy prisons instantly vanished and Sage and Cye both fell to the roof of the building they were over. Each warrior coughed and gasped as they were freed from the hideous torture while Lady Ebony cried out in anger. It was as if the cables draining their power to her had simply been cut. How could she loose her grasp on her victims so easily? This wasn't happening!

"What...What...?" Cye coughed, wondering how they had gotten free.

Just in time to answer his question, a female form appeared in front of them, holding another woman in her arms.

"Sage," she spoke to the still recovering Halo. "She needs help badly."

Sage looked down at the bleeding body of Sailor Mars and then up to the black eyed woman. Who was she? How did she know his name and his powers?

"Please Sage, tell me you still have enough power to do it," she continued.

It was the plea that got him. He knew that quiet, uncertain voice. The one full of power and confidence until it was directed his way.

"Robyn?" he asked dumbly as he took the wounded senshi from her.

"Robyn!" Cye sputtered as he, too recognized her. Since when did she start wearing such revealing clothes? He looked closer. Since when did she have anything she could reveal?

Robyn's mouth turned into a crooked smirk as Cye's cheeks took on a slightly pink hue. He had never looked at her THAT way before. She wondered what was going on in that confused little mind of his. But now was not the time to dwell on such things.

"Take care of Rei for me," she said as she stood. "Cye, help Sage."

The bearer of Torrent blinked. SHE was giving HIM orders?? Since when?

"And where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

Robyn smiled down at him as she floated up slowly. "This time, I'm going to deal with it." And with that, she vanished.

Lady Ebony's eyes went wide when Robyn appeared in front of her in the sky.

"You!" she hissed.

Robyn narrowed her eyes at her. "It stops here, Ebony," she said levelly. "I won't allow you to prey on the lives of others any more."

The Mistress of Darkness just smiled. "Do you really think you can--"

"Stop you?" Robyn cut her off and smiled herself. "We'll see."

She moved her hand in a horizontal cutting motion and Ebony's hold on the last three Ronins was instantly broken. Lady Ebony gasped as she once again lost her grasp on her power source. And the opposing force hadn't even tried and she had overpowered her. No, not over power. It wasn't a matter of this new opponent having more power than she did. It felt more like they both shared the same power and this little Earth girl had somehow gained more control over it. With that realization, Lady Ebony feared for the first time.

Kento let out a deep breath as the pain suddenly stopped and his energy no longer felt like it was draining away. Rowen's head turned from his to Ryo's direction. They all were freed! What happened? In front of him floated Lady Ebony and between them was a figure looking similar to her from behind.

"Hey, what's going on?" Strata demanded. "Who are you?"

The unnamed presence turned his way. When there was no look of recognition on the bearer of Strata's face she cocked her head and smiled at him in an amused fashion.

"Robyn?" he blurted at the familiar smirk.

The other two looked from him to her in total bafflement at the accusation. That was Robyn? It couldn't be! She looked so....so....

Before the thought could be finished, Robyn lifted her hand palm down as slowly lowered it. So, too, did the three Ronins gently descend to the roof top with the rest of their team. Still too confused to do much else.

"Now, it's just you and me, Lady," Robyn announced.

The six armed woman narrowed her serpentine eyes at the young girl.

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "Perhaps the way it should be. A battle of darkness against darkness. But who can possibly win when both are fighting on the same side?"

"I'm not like you!" Robyn insisted.

"Truly?" Ebony replied in an amused tone. "Do you really think we were born that different?"

Next to the floating pair was a taller building rising up into the sky. In the reflection of the glass windows next to them, Robyn could see them both floating there. Like unnatural dark clouds above the streets. She had to pause. In the reflections, they did not appear all that different.

Lady Ebony took this small opportunity of doubt to attack. Robyn just barely managed to dodge the large ball of black energy. It screamed past and hit into a nearby building, shattering the windows of several floors.

"Only one of us can wield these powers!" she screamed as she attacked again.

Robyn made herself disappear before the second energy ball could hit her. She reappeared inches from her opponent and let loose a blast of energy of her own right in Ebony's mid section. Thus sending the Mistress of Darkness reeling as she was wounded by the blow.

Down below, Sage was trying to ignore all this as he attempted to heal Sailor Mars. Half way through, the dark haired girl regained consciousness. And when she found out she was now in the arms of her thought to be enemy, she began to panic. Where were her friends? Why was she here alone? What had those monsters done to them? Was she to be next?

"Cye? Cye!" Sage growled, trying to get Torrent's attention.

The young man was caught up in the fight as were the rest of the Ronins. It took a bit for Sage to finally draw his attention to him.

"Cye, help me hold her! She's going to hurt herself more! Ah! Be still, won't you?" he then demanded of the struggling girl.

Cye instantly put himself to action and grabbed Mars' shoulders in attempts to hold her still.

"You bastards let go of me!" she cried. "What have you done to my friends? How dare--"

Sage growled at the lack of progress as Cye failed to calm her down.

"I said BE STILL!" he ordered, pressing two fingers to her forehead.

Sailor Mars was instantly silent and limp. Cye looked down in awe at her vacant eyes. She appeared to be in some sort of trance. He then looked to Sage for answers as to what he had done. But the bearer of Halo seemed to be in the same state as well.

Sailor Mars was once again lost in darkness. But this time, it felt cold and damp and foreign in this place. Like a dungeon.

"Well my Ronin Warriors, are you ready to submit to me and use your powers to help me take over this world?"

Mars spun around at the sound of such a deep, ominous voice. Before her stood, like a mountain, that figure that had haunted her thoughts whenever she remembered the young men in armors. The one that ruled them and led them through all the suffering and chaos they had caused to her world. Talpa.

"Not a chance Talpa," came a heavy British accent. "We'll never use our armors to help you!"

The fire senshi turned her head to see below the plat form Talpa was standing were three gargoyle heads with three bound young men hanging from their wrists in their mouths. It was three of the five warriors she had been fighting against. They looked two, maybe three years younger here. And instead of loyal subjects, they looked like prisoners. Why?

"Ah, you forget young ronin," Talpa replied. "The armors were mine to begin with. I'm only claiming what rightfully belongs to me. Make no mistake I WILL use them to conquer the Mortal Realm."

"Not while we're still wearing them!"

It was the blonde that was speaking now. Sailor Mars gasped at the sound of his voice. The bravery that was forced to show from this young man, still very much a child in many ways. She turned her head to see the older, present Sage standing next to her in his street clothes. He watched his younger self with a stone face.

"I swear to you Talpa, as long as we're alive, we will not let you have them and we will fight you to the end."

"We'll see about that, my little warriors."

Talpa laughed as the three young men were swallowed up in the tortures inflicted upon them by the nether world powers. Sailor Mars gasped as she tried to comprehend the pain they had to endure. But a stubborn part of her mind reasoned that this could all be a lie. Just another trick to get her to trust them enough to let them take over.

_But,_ a voice in her head reasoned back. _If this Talpa had indeed tried to take over their world three years ago.......who had stopped him?_

Sailor Mars blinked as she was brought back to reality. She sat up, very aware of the two armored warriors surrounding her. In her side she felt no pain. She clutched her body where her uniform was torn and still stained by blood. But she was whole now and she looked up into those dark, stormy eyes of the blonde young man who had healed her. He didn't have to do it. He had saved her life despite her doubt and even open opposition against him. And as she felt the power that had helped her heal, she felt a warmth and goodness from it.

"I..." she fumbled for the right words. "I'm sorry that I--"

"Get down!" Cye landed on top of both of them and pushed them flat to the ground. Black energy shot right over their heads and was swallowed up by the gaping blackness that stubbornly continued to hold the rest of the world hostage.

Up above, the battle between the two dark powers was now going quite strong. Black blood seeped into Ebony's dress from the first shot Robyn had got. She had also managed to graze one of her arms with another blast. On the other hand, Robyn had remained unscathed. That disappearing trick of hers couldn't be replicated without the help of her Out World which was gone. Lady Ebony would have to resort to dirtier tricks if she was going to beat this little upstart.

Robyn tensed to dodge another blast as Ebony gathered energy into her many palms. Instead of attacking her, however, the large blast was suddenly directed to the roof top where her friends witnessed the battle.

Ryo, Kento, and Rowen all watched with wide eyes as the gigantic, black ball of lightning was suddenly sent hurtling in their direction. Before they could even move to dodge or block it, a smaller, female figure suddenly appeared in their way. Lady Ebony grinned to herself. Just as she had planned. She would take that attack if only to save her pitiful little friends and that ball had enough energy to be the end of her.

"ROBYN!" the three all cried at once as she jumped in the path.

This was it. The last. The final act. The only thing she could do for them. And if there was any way she had to die, she would rather it be this way. The only way she could ever truly pay them back. Robyn closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her as she waited for the powerful death blow.

The energy attack connected. And was consumed. Robyn blinked in surprise as the whole attack was absorbed into her own body; not leaving a scratch on her. How was that possible? It didn't even hurt or feel like anything at all.

"WHAT?!" Lady Ebony screeched when she saw this. How could the same energy harm her but not this pathetic little girl?

"Robyn?" Rowen asked as he took an unsure step forward.

He reached out his hand to touch her shoulder. But before he could make contact, energy exploded from Robyn's fingertips. Twice as strong as what has been shot at her. The new energy blast hit the dark mistress straight on in her surprise and she was sent flying up over the skyscraper towering above them all.

"She's not getting away," Robyn growled and disappeared once again before any of the ronins could stop her.

She reappeared on top of the skyscraper and looked around with narrowed eyes on the emptied roof. Unseen to her, a wounded and panting Lady Ebony was crouched behind a large metal fixture, trying to figure out where to go from there. How could she defeat this girl if her energy didn't hurt her?

"My Mistress," Katana said as she appeared in the shadows next to her. "Are you injured badly?"

Ebony's eyes widened as she saw her chance for a come back. "Come Katana, we'll work together to defeat this horrid creation."

Robyn paused as a burst of energy exploded from behind one of the metal fixtures on the roof. Then, out from behind it, stepped a different kind of dark mistress. It was obvious at first sight she had merged with her cat creature creation. Her whole appearance now looked less serpentine and more feline. Her dark hair was bushier and her eyes glowed yellow like that of a predator's. Long, dangerous claws sprouted from her fingertips and itched to cut into human flesh.

"Now," she growled with a feral sneer. "We shall see who is stronger."

With the scream of a wild cat, she attacked. Robyn instantly disappeared and then reappeared in the sky. But Ebony's super sharp feline senses picked up her movements and Robyn was viciously pounced upon the second she reappeared and was sent plummeting downward.

"What are we going to do Ryo?" Rowen demanded impatiently. "We have to go up there and help her fight!"

"And how do you suppose we get up there?" Ryo replied, a bit irritated at the situation.

"I can get up there!"

"Uh, guys," Kento interrupted. "It looks as though they're coming back to us."

Everyone looked skyward and sure enough, two figures were now plummeting from the skyscraper back towards them.

Robyn cried out as the beast's claws tore through the flesh of her arms, holding her fast as they continued to fall. She was on bottom as they plummeted back towards the other roof top. Taking the brunt of the fall was not her idea of fun and she could not have that. She managed to partly rip herself free before making herself disappear again. The creature was left to land on the roof top on her own. As cat-like as ever, Ebony landed on her beastish claws, leaving a good sized crater in the ground where she had hit.

"Try this on for size!" Kento called as he ran to attack.

He was instantly thrown aside by the dark creature. Ryo's swords couldn't touch it, nor could Sage or Cye. Rowen's arrows missed by a mile and all were sent close to plummeting off the building themselves. But Ebony was not concerned with doing away with these petty annoyances just yet. Her main opponent still had to be dealt with.

Robyn re-materialized in the air. She was caught for a moment off guard when she saw her friends all vanquished. Never one to waste an opportunity, Ebony landed on top of her from above when she appeared. Robyn cried out as the creature grabbed her arm while landing a savage kick of the small of her back. She flew from the impact, but was jerked back with Ebony's hold still on her arm and was then sent flying with skull cracking speed into the side of the sky scraper.

Robyn wasn't lucky enough to go through the broken windows, but hit solidly into the concrete side of the building. Her body even hit with enough force to create an indention in the man made stone. If it weren't for her powers giving her such strength, Robyn's body would have exploded upon impact. And before she could recover from the collision, Lady Ebony was right on top of her with her claws wrapped around the young girls neck.

"I have you now," Ebony sneered as she dug her claws deeper into Robyn's throat.

Only a sickening gaging noise came out of the young girl's mouth. She clenched her teeth as she tried to fight free, but the hold on her was too strong. Droplets of blood ran from the punctures in her neck as well from the corner of her mouth. Lady Ebony found herself staring at the liquid. It ran black, just like those from her wound.

She couldn't help but stare into Robyn's face as she recalled a vague memory from long ago.

_This was how I was_, she thought. _This was me before I claimed the power for myself. I was the chosen one then. Is this girl meant to be the new chosen? Was she meant to take my place as I stole this place from another?_

"It will not happen!" Lady Ebony screamed aloud as she raised her free hand for the final blow. "Fate will not claim me a successor! I will not let anyone replace me!"

Robyn saw the attack coming and summoned all her energy for the defense. She readied an attack of her own and with a mighty scream, shoved her palms in Lady Ebony's abdomen and let loose all her power. The creature howled in rage as the blast shot right through her body and sent her jetting back to the rooftop where the Ronins were stationed. Each warrior scrambled to get out of the way as she collided again.

Everything was quiet for a moment as Robyn slowly descended towards her friends. As she landed, she looked like she were about to faint with her wounds.

"Robyn, are you okay?" Kento asked as he ran to her. Words could not describe how scared he had been, helplessly watching those last few seconds of the fight. How scared all of them had been. Robyn would probably never be aware of that fear that had run through them.

"Don't touch me!" Robyn snapped before he could. She clutched herself as she felt the powers inside her. She didn't want any of this darkness affecting them if they got too close. And right before the warrior's eyes, her wounds patched themselves back together.

"Robyn," Ryo said. "What--"

"Hold that thought," Robyn cut him off by raising a finger. "I still have something more to do."

She pushed past the group of ronins before they could argue further. There was a look of distaste on Robyn's face as she slowly approached the smoking form. Ebony was still alive, though the cat in her was now obviously dead; and she looked up at her with black eyes as her body lay in a pool of black blood.

"It was you," Robyn said lowly. "Your creatures were sent to impersonate my dead father."

Lady Ebony smiled a serpentine grin as black blood ran down the corner of her mouth. "Yes, I was behind that. In order to harvest the maximum amount of energy from you, we needed you to be full of negativity and dark thoughts. I could read your mind and I knew just what could get to you the most."

Cye, who could hear them, bit his lip. She had known her father was dead all along and never said anything. No wonder the encounters hit her so hard. She must have been so frightened when she saw the hated personage--the one she thought she was finally ridden of forever--suddenly back from the dead. He wished she would have told him. But then again, Robyn was never one to admit such things and opted to take on as much as she could by herself first before troubling her friends. She was always so strong that way and in that, he almost envied her for that little bit of independence.

Robyn for her part, remained stone faced at the goading. She would not be ruffled so easily now. Everyone had suffered too long at the hands of this creature. She would not stand for it any longer.

"I hate people like you," Robyn told her evenly. "You think just because you have power, that gives you the right to do whatever you want. It gives you the right to kill and destroy. To prey off people's pain and to spread darkness over everything. I say, when you abuse that power, you loose your right to live." And she pointed an open palm to destroy her.

"You can never beat me, truly," Lady Ebony rasped with a weak sneer. "We are part of the same power. Even if you destroy this body, I will live on in you. That's the way it was meant to be."

Robyn narrowed her black eyes at the pitiful, dying creature.

"I will not be a part of you!" she vowed.

In that instant, the dark mistress surprised them all as she jumped out with her last bit of energy and pounced on Robyn, sinking her fangs into her neck. Robyn screamed; and as her friends ran to help her, lightning exploded all around the two figures of darkness. The five ronins and one scout were sent hurling towards the edge of building. A few of them almost falling completely off.

Cye and Rowen were both pulling Kento back up onto the roof--again. Hardrock was about to complain once more when he looked up and his jaw fell open in response to what he witnessed.

"What the hell is that?" he exclaimed instead.

At the edge of the darkness spun a black hole where the two figures had once stood. It swirled like a horizontal whirl wind and grew and grew until it swallowed the whole sky. The winds whipped around it and screamed in pain as the world itself felt like it was being torn asunder.

"It feels like.....a void of complete despair...." Sage breathed. He clung to the edge of the building to hold him up. He could barely take a breath as he felt the massive wave of negative emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

"And Robyn's probably in the middle of that," Rowen growled, clutching his golden bow in frustration. Not even his trusty arrows were any help in this one.

Ryo looked at his friends and the expression of helplessness on their faces. Because of him. This all started because of him. Because he couldn't stop Robyn from being captured despite the fact that she was standing a mere arm's length from him. If he couldn't even protect one girl, then what good was he as a hero? Sheathing his swords, Ryo suddenly took off for the dead center of the swirling blackness.

"Ryo!" Rowen called a split second too late. He was already swallowed up inside.

"Ryo, wait!" Cye yelled, fully intent on following after him, but Kento held him back.

"It's no use, buddy," the larger warrior said. "There's nothing we can do. We can't fight this."

Sailor Mars watched the pure emotion and frustration sweep through all of them and she was beside herself. Such devotion. Just like her and her friends. She wondered where they were. Hopefully, far away from this awful scene. The end of this world truly felt nearer than it ever had before.

Ryo found himself floating in blackness. Or was it more like falling? He felt himself descending beyond his control, but can one really be falling if they have nothing solid to fall towards? It was a little of the same feeling when he had been absorbed by Talpa. That had almost felt like another life time ago. But then, strangely enough, he had felt a moment of peace when he was floating there. In here, in this black void, he felt the evils of the world surrounding him. Anything of light and good would not be found here and it felt as though the darkness would win and that light had already been vanquished from existence forever.

Sage had been right. This truly was a void of complete despair and Ryo found himself being swallowed up in it. The sins of the world were overwhelming. No matter how long he fought, no matter how long he stayed pure, he could never beat them all. No amount of right or goodness could be strong enough to lift this heavy burden on mankind. The only thing he could do was let the darkness take him and swallow up his existence so he would never feel again.

"Ryo?"

A light voice ascended from the darkness. He hardly even heard it through his own depression.

"Ryo."

There it was again. How could something so soft break through this thick blackness so easily?

Two slender arms wrapped lovingly around him from the back. Ryo looked behind him.

"Robyn?"

She rested her cheek on his bare shoulder. The two seemed to be touching skin to skin. Yet, were they really without clothes here? It felt almost like they were without bodies and just their presences were touching each other.

"Ryo, what's the matter?" her soft, patient voice cut through the loneliness of this hideous void. "Why are you so troubled?"

Ryo closed his eyes to the darkness. "There is so much evil in this world. So much hatred and pain and sadness. Is it really worth saving? Is it worth working so hard to bring it all back? You, who have experienced so much of it yourself, do you really want to go back to it?"

"Yes," came a reply with no hesitance. "It's always worth it to live one more day. Even with the bad. We need our pain, Ryo; it makes us strong. And we need evil, so we can know what is good. How can we know when we're happy, if we don't know what it's like to be sad? Yes, it is worth it."

In that moment, Ryo realized where Robyn's true power lied. What her true strength was. It was her ability to exist in darkness and remain unhindered by it. He looked over his shoulder at the soft, red hair billowing behind him. He could feel her presence around him; cradling him, protecting him from the greedy darkness. In this one moment, he felt at peace. Despite all the hurt in the world; all the fear and hate. If he could just go on living one more day to remember the feeling of this moment, then he would fight. And it would be worth it.

"We can't just sit here staring at it!" Sailor Mars demanded of the four remaining ronins. "We have to do SOMETHING! What if it tears the whole world apart!"

"I can sit here, staring at it," Kento offered with a raise of his armored hand.

"Well, we're definitely open to suggestions," Rowen huffed. "Remember, two of our friends are in there. Not that YOU care."

The fire senshi was rendered speechless for a moment at that accusation.

"Sailor Mars!" a voice carried above the wind.

She looked to see who was calling her name and found her whole team coming to her aid.

"Mars, you're alive! You're okay," Sailor Moon cried as she hugged her friend.

"Yes, I'm fine," she nodded.

"What's going on?" Sailor Jupiter said.

"Guys, it looks like this is it," Mars called out. "Get ready everyone. We have to stop that thing before it destroys us all."

"Right!" The scouts agreed in unison as they got ready for the fight.

"You can't!" Cye argued, surprising the group. "Robyn and Ryo are both in there. None of you are doing anything until we can get them out."

"You need to start thinking of something other than yourselves!" Sailor Uranus shot back. "Are you really willing to sacrifice the whole world for two people?"

Cye stumbled back. "I..." he was willing to do anything in his power for both Ryo and Robyn. When it all came down to it, could he really stand sacrificing them for the good of the world?

Fortunately for him, that decision would not have to be made--not at this point in time at least. The skies began to settle and the wind slowed on its own. The great twisting void of darkness turned in on itself and left nothing behind as if it had not existed. The blackness that was once swallowing the city started to slowly retreat back to where it came from. Things were finally returning to normal.

Where the storm had been in the sky now descended two figures slowly towards the waiting warriors. Robyn, still in her dark, transformed state, had her arms around Ryo's shoulders while he, in turn, had his arms around her waist. He didn't seem to be conscious as they got closer to the roof top. His eyes were closed as his head rested limply on her shoulder.

The other ronins ran over to their friends as they landed on the roof.

"Ryo!" Sage called as he looked at the lifeless body.

"Is he okay?" Rowen asked.

Robyn was on her knees now with Ryo's head resting in her lap. "He's fine," he said with a smile. She put a hand under his neck and lifted his head a little. "Come on warrior, wake up."

She snapped her fingers in his face and Ryo's eyes popped open. He immediately sat up and looked around.

"What happened?" he wondered, eyes full of surprise. "Is everyone okay? Where's Lady Ebony?"

Robyn's face sobered at the last question. "She's gone. Swallowed up by the same powers she let consume her for so many years."

Ryo turned and looked her in the face with those large, emotional eyes of his. For a moment their gazes locked. What was written in those big, blue eyes spoke volumes. But Robyn didn't allow him to voice it. She quickly rose to her feet and the ronins moved to stand with her.

"So then......is it over?" Kento wondered.

Robyn smiled and nodded. "Yes Kento, I believe it is." She then laughed and then put an arm behind her head in a similar fashion to the way Hardrock sometimes acted. "Not a bad day's work if I do say so. You guy's ready to go home now?"

"Boy, I sure am," Rowen replied as he yawned. "It's been a long day for all of us."

"Wait," Cye called as the group moved to leave.

"What is it Cye," Ryo asked as they stopped to turn his way.

The rusty haired youth stood there for a moment as if trying to communicate into words what was bothering him.

"We--we can't just leave like this," he finally blurted.

"Huh, why not?" Kento demanded.

"Yeah, what's there to stay for?" Rowen added as he counted off on his fingers. "We saved the city, beat the villain, and restored existence as we know it back to the way it was. What did we miss?"

"What about.....Robyn?" Cye pressed.

"Well yeah, she helped us do that, too."

"Helped a LOT, thank you!"

"No!" Cye insisted.

"Well then what?" Robyn demanded. She placed her hands on her hips as she started to get flustered. "Just spit it out Cye!"

"Robyn, look at you!" he suddenly retorted.

Everyone stopped and stared. Robyn blinked and looked down at herself then at all the ronins eye balling her.

"What?"

"Hey, no worries buddy," Kento jumped in. "So she looks a bit different. But Robyn's got some cool, kick-ass powers now, so it's all good."

"No, it's not," Cye said lowly as he approached his childhood friend. "Robyn, you got these powers from a creature of pure evil. You can't keep them. It won't be good for you."

"Cye, knock it off," Robyn instantly spat back, shrugging away from him. "It doesn't matter where I got them; I can control it. Don't you get it? I can help you guys fight now."

"I agree with Cye," Sage spoke up. "What you have isn't the same as our armors. It could end up destroying you just like it did Ebony."

Robyn couldn't believe what she was hearing! She was finally able to fight back. Able to take care of herself so her friends wouldn't have to waste their time baby-sitting her any more. She finally had a way to be free of all the fear she had lived with. And now they wanted her to give it all up? Didn't they care about her? Or were they just jealous that someone had more power than them?

She looked to the other three for their decisions. Rowen and Kento looked at each other. They weren't sure what to think.

"Ryo?" Robyn asked.

He looked at her as a million different emotions morphed through his body. He had seen her natural tolerance to the darkness. But would it really be worth it to have a permanent darkness festering inside her for all time?

"Robyn," he said helplessly. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Robyn gave a loud cry of frustration. "Oh! You guys are impossible!" she yelled at them. "Can't you see what this means to me? You won't need to risk your lives for me any more."

Cye stepped forward. "I--I don't mind risking my life....for you."

Robyn bit her lip. Clenching her fists until they shook, she backed away from them a few more steps.

"Oh no, it's going to start all over again," Sailor Uranus breathed from where she and the others were watching. "It's that power that controls the host. That's what we're really fighting. We may have to stop her as well."

"I'm ready," Neptune said quietly behind her.

"Wait," Sailor Moon ordered, raising an outstretched arm in their path.

The two looked at the smaller, younger blonde as if she were crazy. Sailor Moon met their incredulous gaze with a gentle, trusting one.

"Just give them a chance," she smiled.

"Do you know what you're asking?" Robyn practically screamed at him. "If I loose these powers, I'll be back to the way I was!"

Cye took a step forward. He cocked his head to the side and smiled at her as if that had been his plan all along. "Would that really be so bad?"

But that response seemed to only enrage the redhead even more. Her breathing came out in heavy breathes as her anger flared. What if she thought it was so bad? Didn't they realize how much she hated herself and her weakness? How she despised her sickly looks and pale complection? Who could ever care for something like that? Who could be attracted to anything like that? Why couldn't they understand? Why were they trying so hard to drag her down? Didn't they want her to be happy? No one did in this messed up world.

Robyn glanced down at the broken glass strewn around her feet. She saw her reflection winking back at her. She looked so exotic and mysterious and magical. Hell, she was gorgeous! A great leap from that skinny little underdeveloped, pitiful vestige she used to be.

"You--you don't like me this way?" she asked, her voice faltering. She gazed around at the five of them. Each one held a different look of surprise or confusion. "But I--I thought.....but I look so....."

She trailed off as her frustration cut her voice. No, they didn't understand at all. Her anger flared again. Robyn narrowed her black eyes at them and a shadow fell over her face. Sage could instantly feel the darkness stirring again. The rest of them felt the panic in their hearts as the tides changed and Robyn turned her back on them all.

Not a word was uttered as all present helplessly watched the confused, young girl teeter on the brink. Robyn looked down at her reflection again and in it, saw what was really there. She saw the image of the thing she had thought she destroyed. The essence she said she hated and would never be a part of. But there it was, staring back at her with all its power in tact.

Cye held his breath as Robyn turned around to face them. The Ronins collectively felt a chill run through them as she stared them down. A tingling in their armor's senses told them what they might have to do next and each one was beginning to falter at the mere thought of it.

But then, Robyn smiled at them and raised a hand towards the sky. Untold measures of power suddenly shot from her body and was tossed heavenward. The scouts all shielded their faces as their skirts fluttered in the wind created by such a movement of energy. The ronins held their places steadfastly until the last of the dark energy pillar was sucked up into the heavens never to be heard from again.

When the powers resided, all that was left in their place was a young girl in plain clothes and thin red hair. She stood there for a second while everyone gaped, head hanging down. But her body soon proved it could no longer support her measly weight and it began to give way.

Kento was the one able to regain his senses fast enough to rush over to the falling form. He ran and slid like he was stealing home plate; just barely managing to slide under her before Robyn's body hit the ground. After catching her, Kento couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief now that he had her firmly in his arms. She was safe with them now; everything was okay.

"I'm sorry," came a weak voice from the limp body. Robyn didn't even have the strength to lift her head and it lolled over to rest on Kento's upper arm. "I'm sorry I made you worry. You are the only thing good in my life. Sometimes you are the only things keeping me on the right track. I'm just sorry you have to endure all this pain and trouble for me."

Though he had always tried to play the tough guy, even the bearer of Hardrock was having a hard time controlling his emotions at that point. He hugged the body close to him, moving his mouth to her ear so he could whisper back.

"For me, you pay us back a hundred fold every time you believe in us."

A tired, but satisfied smile crossed Robyn's weary face and she finally closed her eyes to enjoy a much deserved rest.

Kento picked her up in his arms and stood as the other ronins ran over to see for themselves if she was okay.

"Now, I think it's definitely time to go home," Cye announced.

Sage nodded his agreement. The group of armored warriors hardly paid further heed to the second group as they passed by. Not until Sailor Mars ran out to them.

"Thank you for saving my life," she called out to Sage. "And I'm sorry. We all misjudged you."

Sage gave a small smile and nodded. The others did the same before leaving with their friend.

"Well, I guess they didn't really need our help," Jupiter blinked as she realized the situation.

"But it was fun anyway," Venus grinned.

"Fun?" Luna huffed to herself. "Well I certainly don't want to go through that again."

"Well guys," Sailor Moon announced. "I think it's time we went home ourselves. How about you--"

She turned to address the two outer senshi, but they were already long gone. Sailor Moon just smiled and shook her head.

"Come on guys, let's go. And maybe we can pick up some food along the way? I'm starving!"

The rest of the group quickly voiced their agreements.

"Oh," Luna once again sighed. "They never change."

It was late at night and the small apartment was deathly quiet. The only sound made was the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock in the kitchen. This was the Hashiba residence. Though only two people lived there, various male bodies were sprawled out in the living room fast asleep. Rowen's mother wasn't home, as usual, which made it the favored place to return to. Before partaking of their well deserved rest, each ronin had taken their turn in calling their legal guardians to let them know where they were. Most were forced to make up a small story of a sleep over study session for finals or something similar. For Cye, it was obvious by his tone and the length of the conversation with his mother, that he had told her a bit more. But to what extent, no one bothered to pry.

In a dark room, Robyn awoke. Her eyes had snapped open automatically as if she had been called to rise by some unseen source. She sat up to find she had been slumbering in someone's bed. It wasn't hers, that was for sure. Looking around, it took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness as she hung her bare feet over the side. The floor was hard wood with a dark blue rug in the middle. Blue sheets on the bed and several book shelves along the walls. Glow in the dark star stickers on the ceiling......Rowen's room?

Robyn got to her feet and stood there for a moment, wondering what to do next. She looked around her and noticed her reflection in the mirror hanging above Rowen's dresser. She walked over it and gazed at the pathetic looking urchin staring back at her in the darkness. Rueful green eyes reflected back as she reached out to touch her scraggly hair and she remembered how she used to look. Robyn sighed as she looked down at her old self.

"Hello again, flat chest," she said dryly. "I'm back again being plain, old me."

Something soft, yet heavy bumped against her leg and Robyn looked down as White Blaze pushed his mussel into her hand. She smiled and knelt down to reach his eye level.

"Hey pretty boy, I'm glad to see you made it through this mess okay," Robyn said quietly as she scratched the tiger between the eyes.

White Blaze rumbled a purr in reply and rubbed his face against her fingers so he could be scratched all over. Sage had healed his previous wound on returning before he had sacked out.

"You really are just a big kitty," Robyn smiled.

White Blaze rubbed his head against her, almost knocking her over. Robyn laughed and hugged him. What a wonderful beast. With claws and teeth that could rip her apart in seconds, his mere presence made her feel calm and safe in an instant.

Robyn made her way out of the bedroom into the rest of the apartment. She came upon the living room to see three mighty warriors snoozing mightily away. Robyn smiled at the sight of them. It was good to be back with them again. After such a night she could truly appreciate the serenity of this moment.

Cye was curled up on the floor with a blanket and an open text book at his side. Robyn reached over and pulled the blanket over his shoulders before taking a moment to remove a few stray strands from his face. He might have thought she was mad at him for making her give up her powers. But he had been right and Robyn understood that now. She was so grateful that she had him to help keep her on the right path when she was unable to make the best descisions on her own.

Kento was sawing logs in the recliner as deep as you please. He was hunched forward in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. Robyn gently pulled his shoulders back and reclined the chair to provide her friend with a more comfortable sleep. She owed him that much. He had done so much for her during this very difficult week. She may not have made it without him. As Robyn looked down at his snoozing frame she recalled the few times he had embraced her and how safe she had felt in his arms. His gentle strength was a haven to her and part of her still just wanted to crawl up there with him and remain in the sanctity of his presence. But she knew that action would earn her more than a few questions and some odd looks so she moved on.

Stretched out on the couch was Sage and Robyn approached his sleeping form next. An open book was folded over his chest, about to fall from his fingers as his glasses barely hung off his nose. Robyn slowly eased the book from his hand, careful to save the place, and slipped the glasses from his face. She placed both items next to the reading lamp before flipping it off. There, in the darkness she took one last look as the warrior of light. Yes, darkness did not become him. Even at night, he didn't look a part of it. Like it was just something he was forced to tolerate until the sun came to greet him again. So, so different from her and her adaption to the darkness. At that moment he seemed even more untouchable, even more surreal than on the first day Robyn had met him.

The only light left on now seemed to be in the kitchen. After being next to something so much her opposite, Robyn felt a need to seek other company. Rowen looked up from his studies when he heard White Blaze pad onto the linoleum. He was a bit surprised to see Robyn there, but then smiled.

"Hey," he said quietly. His clear blue eyes looked hazed and tired. Perhaps it was now past even his bed time.

Ryo was sitting across from him at the table with his head resting on his folded arms. His notes and text books were scattered about him. He, too, was sound asleep. White Blaze laid down next to the humming refrigerator and closed his eyes.

"What time is it?" Robyn whispered.

"You don't want to know," Rowen replied, motioning to the remaining chair at the table which was situated next to the sleeping Ryo.

Robyn sat down and sighed heavily as she slumped in her chair.

"How are you feeling?" Rowen then asked.

"Well, strangely enough, I'm not tired. You'd think I'd still be sleeping after not getting any last night, but I--"

"No," Rowen shushed her gently as he placed his hand on hers. "What I meant was, will you be okay?"

Robyn looked down at the touching hands and then up at his face. It was clear by his expression that he wasn't referring to her fatigue or even physical well-being. Something else. A sudden emotion swelled in her chest, but she forced herself to hold it back.

"I'm fine," she smiled.

"Are you sure?" There was emotion burning in his eyes now. "All that they made you go through. I just can't--" He cut himself off before his emotions and his own fatigue made him say something stupid. He squeezed her hand tighter when the words failed him. Were his cheeks starting to get hot?

"Rowen, I'll be just fine. I can deal with it," she insisted. "You don't have to worry about me."

Rowen was still looking dubious with her replies. He had witnessed for himself a mere fraction of what she had to suffer through that night and HE was still having problems getting past it.

"It's okay," Robyn repeated. "A lot of it was from stuff long ago and I had made myself move past all that. The worst part of it was just a lie. It was when they made me think I had lost you guys. That moment when I thought you all had died--I didn't know if I could go on after that."

She paused to look at the sleeping Ryo next to her. He looked so peaceful and angelic. Robyn reached over and fingered a few thick strands from his face. Ryo didn't stir.

"But when I saw you alive and well, it took the pain away and I could go on again. Having you five there-- that was all that mattered to me."

A silence passed as Rowen meditated on those words. They were all that mattered to her. He had never been 'all that mattered' to anyone; not even his parents. Rowen looked up to see that Robyn was still petting Ryo's head like it was a cat or something and he had to smile. She, it seemed, had always been fascinated with Wildfire's hair. She was always trying to find an excuse to play with the thick, raven locks. Ryo, for the most part, just tolerated it. And Robyn was now taking advantage of the youth's slumbering to molest his head again. It was a good feeling to know that despite what she had just gone through, Robyn hadn't changed.

Rowen let himself get lost in his own thoughts for a while before looking up. The lateness of the hour always made it easier for one's mind to drift off. That was what Robyn seemed to be doing at the moment. Her gaze was far from the here and now as she continued to comb her fingers through Ryo's hair without realizing it. A small smile was on her face as she continued to caress the raven locks. His presence was comforting. Even if he couldn't see her or hear her. Even if he didn't even acknowledge her presence right next to him. It was still comforting to touch him and to have him beside her.

"What's on your mind?" Rowen wondered, cocking his head at her.

Robyn's attention turned to him before her face held a thoughtful look.

"I think.....I think I was wise today," she confided in him. "At least, compared to most days," she added with a giggle.

"You're smart enough," Rowen insisted. "You'll see. You're smart enough to take care of yourself no matter where you go from here."

"Perhaps," Robyn agreed, getting that far of look again. "But it doesn't hurt to have good friends to help you along the way."

As she said the last part, she gently put her arms around the sleeping Ryo and gave him a hug--since he was merely the closest ronin to her. As Rowen watched, he knew that it wouldn't have mattered to her who was in that chair. It could have been any of them and she still would have acted the same. Perhaps that was where this lost misfit's appeal came from. From the fact that she cared for them all indiscriminately and treated them all the same. Though Rowen still would have liked to know Ryo's reaction if he ever found out what he had just slept through.

"I think it's about time I hit the sack now," Rowen announced quietly as he got up.

Not a word was said after that. In the stillness of the late night, there was a clatter as Robyn's chair was tipped over. In a heart beat her face was buried in Rowen's chest with her arms circling his torso tightly. Rowen blinked at the top of her head for a moment before lightly putting his arms around her shoulders. She was hugging him so tight. That in itself spoke volumes to him.

"Oh Rowen," she choked into his shirt. It was obvious in her voice that she was fighting back her sobs. "I'm so glad you're alive! That all of you are alive! I don't know what I would have done without you."

Rowen could hardly hold himself back as he held her tighter. Of all the things she had to endure in her life. All the trials and heartaches and abuse--her worse agony of all was losing them. He had hardly known this wayward soul less than a year and she already cared for them that much. The thought alone almost overwhelmed the lonely young man. Never had he experienced such fierce loyalty and faith outside of his own armor linked comrades. It was almost to the point where he didn't believe it existed any more.

Rowen's eyes traveled to the thought-to-be sleeping Ryo. He was still hunched over in the same position, but his eyes were half way open and watching them. Ryo's gaze drifted off as his mouth pulled into a thoughtful smile. Just how long had he been awake and how much had he heard? Perhaps it didn't matter. But Rowen was almost sure he saw tears pooling there for one reason or another. Ryo closed his eyes again with that same smile on his face. Rowen lightly stroked the hair of the girl still clinging to him. Whatever happened in the past and whatever would come in the future, for now, everyone was safe and here with him. For that moment alone, life was worth living.

Robyn nervously paced outside the door of her Ancient Japanese History class. Cye and Kento were there with her. The two ronins were far more casual than their female friend. They simply stood around and watched her wring her hands impatiently.

"Robyn, why don't you calm down?" Kento offered. "Pacing around isn't going to change your score any."

The redhead whirled around and was about to give him what for when the class room door opened. Mr. Kuroda, looking as crusty as ever, eyed the three waiting for him.

"Here you go, Ms. McCarthy, your test," he said as he handed her the paper.

Robyn's heart jumped in her throat. She needed this grade to graduate and she had studied so hard for this class. She looked at the score and her whole face lit up. Not only did she pass, but her grade was actually a pretty good one!

"Yes!" she cried in the empty hall. "I passed! I passed!" Then, to everyone's surprise, she turned around and hugged the bane of her existence for the entire school year. "Thanks Mr. Kuroda, you're the best teacher in the entire world!"

She laughed and then took off down the hall for the front doors. The history teacher took a moment to clear his throat and restraighten his tie. He handed Kento and Cye their test scores as well, since they happened to be there. The two teens looked at him strangely. For a moment, he didn't seem so...crusty.

"A--And tell that girl no running in the halls," he said as they left, though the edge was gone from his voice.

Cye and Kento just nodded and backed away slowly. They decided to get while the getting was good.

Robyn never felt so light as she ran through the grass to the tree where the group sometimes hung out. Sage was making his way there himself as Robyn ran towards him. She jumped on him from behind and actually GLOMPED the startled teen.

"Sagie, you're so cool! I love you!" she exclaimed before letting go and running off.

The blonde's eyes could not have been bigger as he paused in mid stride and watched her continue on.

"Rowen!"

The bearer of Strata had been laying in the grass with an open book resting over his face when Robyn plopped herself down on his stomach. It almost knocked the breath out of him as he made an "Oof!" sound.

"Check this out!" Robyn said as she proudly flashed her test in his face. "Seventy-eight percent bay-be on my hardest subject. I am the smartest person alive!!"

Rowen gave a throaty chuckle, or at least the best he could do with another person sitting on top of him.

"Hey, where's my greeting?" Ryo, who was sitting next to them, demanded. He had witnessed her reaction to both Sage and Rowen and was now getting a little jealous.

Robyn was in the best mood of her life and was pulling out all the stops. The second Ryo opened his mouth she attacked him. It was kind of funny to watch as she threw herself off Rowen and onto him. From a distance, it looked like she was attacking him and then putting him into a lip lock. In reality, she had her hand over Ryo's mouth and was smooching the back of her own hand, simulating a big, sloppy kiss from afar.

Even with that, Ryo was still left a bit stunned as Robyn flopped over onto the grass and laughed. She looked up at the sky, her heart soaring with the clouds. In the back of her mind she knew there was a hard truth she would soon have to face. But for this moment in time, everything felt perfect.

"Fighting evil by moonlight," Robyn sang lightly to herself. "Winning love by daylight. Never running from a real fight; she is the one named Sailor Moon. She will never turn her back on a friend. She is always there to defend. She is the one on whom we can depend. She is the one named Sailor---"

"Robyn," Rowen warned. "If you sing that song one more time, I swear...."

"What? I love it! I wrote it myself."

"Why don't you come up with a theme song for us," Kento suggested. "Something that tells how much we kick ass!"

"Pff, what's there to sing about?" Robyn retorted playfully. "A bunch of guys with magic armors. Geeze, maybe someone should just make an anime out of it. I'm sure it would be soooo interesting."

"Oh, good lord," Sage muttered to Cye. "Can you imagine?"

The bearer of Torrent just chuckled.

"I would be the star," Ryo announced out of the blue.

Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"Well, I would," he insisted.

"Riiiight," Rowen said, unconvinced. "Like anyone would want to watch a show about you."

That was pretty much how the conversation went as the group of friends, dressed in their caps and gowns, entered their high school as students for the very last time.

Graduation went as graduations typically go. Diplomas were handed out and caps were thrown. Everyone's parents were there. Even Rowen's mother managed to show her face for a second or two. After all, it's not every day her only son graduates from high school. But at the time, her only son was making a nuisance of himself as he kept flipping Robyn's cap off her head. She playfully hit him back before she and Kami both ganged up on him. Kento lifted his graduation robe while the families were trying to take pictures, showing that he was wearing nothing but neon pink boxers under it. He laughed while others groaned. He also boasted he had persuaded Cye to do it with him, but the water warrior refused to show anyone. They all had invested in plastic flower leis to wear to the occasion as well. (Rowen wanted them all to get "leied" for graduation. Typical Rowen.)

As the class began to dwindle off and prepare for the all night graduation party, Robyn's attention was caught by a group of girls standing off in the distance. Everyone else was still goofing around and laughing and didn't notice when Robyn left. The five girls smiled at her as she approached.

"Happy graduation, Robyn," Mina was the first to greet her.

"Hi," Robyn replied. "What are you guys still doing here? I thought you would have gone back to Tokyo by now."

"We just thought we'd stop by one last time to see you before we left," Ami explained.

"And we wanted to make sure you were doing okay," Lita added.

Robyn smiled. "I'm fine. I've got more than enough people to take care of me as it is." She glanced in the warrior's direction--who still didn't seem to notice she was missing.

"So...." Robyn then ventured. "How's Darien? Is he anywhere around?"

"Humph, you wish!" Serena shot back.

"I do wish," Robyn replied wistfully. "Tell that hottie I said hi. And, if you two ever break up......"

"We're not going to. Ever," Serena insisted and Robyn laughed right out at the unamused expression on her face.

"Well we really had fun when you came over that night," Lita popped in. "I hope we can do it again sometime."

"Yes. And if you're ever in Tokyo, look us up," Ami agreed.

A shrill whistle interrupted the girls' conversation.

"Yo Robyn, let's go," Kento called. "We've still got a party to go to, you know!"

Robyn waved his way.

"Well, that's my ride leaving me. I'd better go."

But before she could, Rei stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You really saved us all that night," she said. "Thank you. And I was wrong about your friends." She looked at Robyn with a certain awe in her face. "You really have a lot of faith in them, don't you?"

Robyn smiled as she turned to go. "Yeah. They--They're my heros." And with that, she ran to join them in celebration of the end of one part of life and the beginning of a bright new future for them all.

The five girls watched the warriors leave. Their graduation would be the next week and none of them could wait.

"Well guys," Serena announced. "Are we ready to go home now?"

Everyone seemed to agree.

"We still need to finish finals and attend our own graduation," Rei reminded her friends. "So that means, right back to studying for you."

Serena groaned. "Can we at least stop and get something to eat first?I'm starving!"


End file.
